Lack of association between thrombophilic gene variants and recurrent pregnancy loss

Abstract

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as the occurrence of two or more consecutive pregnancy losses. It is an important reproductive condition with a complex etiology. In approximately 50% of RPL cases an explanation for the cause is not found and they are therefore classified as idiopathic RPL. One of the causes implicated in RPL is thrombophilia, which consists of hemostatic disorders that lead to an increase in thromboembolic processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate polymorphic variants in genes related to thrombophilia as a risk factor in women with RPL. We investigated 145 women with at least two consecutive pregnancy losses and 135 women with at least two children and no history of pregnancy loss. Genotypes for the polymorphisms MTHFR C677T, FVL, FII (prothrombin), eNOS T-786C, and eNOS Glu298Asp were determined using a real-time PCR. Information about the exposure to environmental risk factors was also collected. There was no significant association between the environmental risk factors assessed and the polymorphisms studied. We did not find statistically significant differences in genotypic or allelic frequencies for the polymorphisms studied, in either the women with RPL or in the control group. Such polymorphisms should therefore not be considered as risk factors for this condition in this population.

Keywords::

• Recurrent pregnancy loss
• thrombophilia
• MTHFR
• eNOS

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Instituto Nacional de Genética Médica Populacional (INAGEMP), by the Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa e Eventos of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE-HCPA), by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento e de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). The authors thank all the women who participated as volunteers in this study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.