Single nucleotide polymorphisms near the inhibin beta B gene on 2q14 are associated with pre-eclampsia in Han Chinese women

Context and objectivePre-eclampsia (PE) is the most common medical complication of pregnancy encountered worldwide. A previous genome-wide association study showed that three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located near the inhibin beta B gene (INHBB) – rs12711941 (T>G), rs7576192 (A>G) and rs7579169 (T>C) – were associated with PE in Australian women. The present study was undertaken to assess the genetic association between these three SNPs and the risk of PE in Han Chinese women.PatientsOne hundred and eighty-one pregnant women with PE and 203 healthy pregnant women (controls) were recruited from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from October 2012 to June 2013.Study designPE patients and controls underwent clinical and biochemical examination. The three SNPs were genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. PE patients were divided into various subgroups for comparison with controls.ResultsThe rs7579169 CC genotype was found to have a significantly higher frequency in PE patients than in controls [TT vs TC + CC: odds ratio (OR) = 2.278, p = 0.040], indicating that the C allele of rs7579169 confers a risk for PE [OR = 1.4440, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0517–1.9827, p = 0.0229]. The rs7576192 genotype showed significant differences between controls and multiparous PE patients (χ2 = 4.6088, df = 1, P = 0.0319, OR = 0.6379, 95% CI 0.4223–0.9634). However, neither allele nor genotype frequencies of rs12711941 differed significantly between patients and controls in any genetic models or subgroup analyses. Haplotype analysis revealed that the H1 haplotype (G-G-C) was associated with PE (OR = 1.437, 95% CI 1.034–1.997, p < 0.05), whereas the H2 haplotype (G-G-T) offered protection against PE (OR = 0.482, 95% CI 0.232–1.001, p < 0.05).ConclusionPregnant Han Chinese women carrying the rs7579169 CC genotype and G-G-C haplotype are significantly more likely to develop PE, especially late-onset and multiparous cases.