Polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor-α gene in women with preeclampsia

Purpose: We determined whether genetic variability in the gene encoding for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) contributes to individual differences in susceptibility to the development of preeclampsia. Methods: The study involved 133 preeclamptic and 115 healthy control pregnant women who were genotyped for C-850T polymorphism in the TNF-alpha gene promoter. Chi-square analysis was used to assess genotype and allele frequency differences between preeclamptic women and controls. Results: A significantly different genotype distribution of C-850T polymorphism was observed between the two groups, with the frequency of the variant T allele being significantly reduced in the preeclamptic group (4.5%) when compared with the control group (9.6%) (P = 0.03; OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.22-0.92). Accordingly, the odds ratio for preeclampsia associated with the pooled TT and CT genotypes was 0.367 (P = 0.02; 95% CI = 0.159-0.847). Conclusions: The T allele of the TNF-alpha gene may modify individual preeclampsia risk, being protective against the development of the complication.