Associations of GNAS and RGS Gene Polymorphisms with the Risk of Ritodrine-Induced Adverse Events in Korean Women with Preterm Labor: A Cohort Study

Ritodrine, a beta 2-adrenergic receptor agonist, is among most commonly prescribed tocolytic agents. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms in GNAS, RGS2, and RGS5 with the risk of ritodrine-induced adverse events (AEs) and develop a risk scoring system to identify high-risk patients. This is the prospective cohort study conducted at the Ewha Woman's University Mokdong Hospital between January 2010 and October 2016. Pregnant women were included if they were treated with ritodrine for preterm labor with regular uterine contractions (at least 3 every 10 min) and cervical dilation. A total of 6, 3, and 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GNAS, RGS2, and RGS5 genes were genotyped and compared in patients with and without ritodrine-induced AEs. A total of 163 patients were included in this study. After adjusting confounders, GNAS rs3730168 (per-allele odds ratio (OR): 2.1; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.0-4.3) and RGS2 rs1152746 (per-allele OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.5) were significantly associated with ritodrine-induced AEs. According to the constructed risk scoring models, patients with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 points showed 0%, 13%, 19%, 31%, 46%, and 100% risks of AEs. This study suggested that GNAS and RGS2 polymorphisms could affect the risk of AEs in patients treated with ritodrine.

Automated summary

This study found significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in GNAS and RGS2 genes and ritodrine-induced adverse events. A risk scoring system was developed to identify high-risk patients.