Catechol-O-methyltransferase Gene Polymorphism (Val158Met) and Development of Pre-eclampsia

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a key enzyme in degradation pathways of estrogens and catecholamines. The present meta-analysis was done to elucidate the association of COMT Val158Met polymorphism with pre-eclampsia among pregnant women.

A literature search was conducted in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Elsevier, Springer and Google Scholar to find eligible studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated under dominant, recessive, co-dominant, and allelic models.

This meta-analysis included 6 eligible studies consisting 2596 cases and 4223 controls. The ORs for the COMT G472A polymorphism and pre-eclampsia were indicative of positive association under several genetic models. The results indicated that COMT Val158Met polymorphism was significantly associated with the increased risk of pre-eclampsia in recessive model (AA vs. AG + GG: OR = 1.522 [95% CI: 1.089-2.127]; p = 0.014), co-dominant model (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.605 [95% CI: 1.102-2.336]; p = 0.014), and allelic model (A vs. T: OR = 1.200 [95% CI: 1.021-1.402]; p = 0.021).

In summary, COMT Val158Met polymorphism is positively associated with the increased risk of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women, especially the homozygous carriers. It could be of value to investigate its association with pre-eclampsia in combination with additional risk factors. However, very large studies with different ethnic population are required to accurately demonstrate the role of this candidate gene in development of pre-eclampsia.