Role of the 12q24.12 locus in the onset of preeclampsia: an Italian case-control study

Abstract

Objective: The 12q24.12 locus has been reported to be involved in the control of many traits and also in severe diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and some immune-related disease. To our knowledge, no study has been published so far investigating the role of this locus in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). Methods: We genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 12q24.12 locus in 198 preeclamptic, 224 chronic hypertensive and 265 normotensive women from Italy, to test the contribution polymorphisms/haplotypes on the onset of preeclampsia and their association with chronic hypertension. Results. No association was observed for any single SNP, while a common haplotype CGTG (21% in normotensive women) revealed a possible protective effect (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.97) against preeclampsia. Conclusions: Our data suggest that a common haplotype within 12q24.12 locus may be associated with a protective effect against preeclampsia. This observation may be linked with the potential role of this region in the control of microcirculation. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first one that links the 12q24.12 locus with this life-threatening perinatal complication of unknown etiology. Further physiological and functional studies are needed to clarify the molecular mechanisms and pathways of preeclampsia.

Keywords::

• Chronic hypertension
• preeclampsia
• pregnancy
• single nucleotide polymorphisms

Acknowledgements

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this articles. This research was supported in part by grants from the Progetto di Ricerca Sanitaria Finalizzata Regione Piemonte Anno 2008 bis request number 3814 [to A.P. and to G.M.], and by grants from the Italian Ministry of the University, Progetti Ricerca Interesse Nazionale [2007-prot. 20073RH73W_005 to A.P.]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript.

Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.