The association between maternal and foetal REN gene polymorphisms and preeclampsia/eclampsia: A hybrid design study

Preeclampsia (PE)/eclampsia (E) is an important cause of foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality, and its aetiology is poorly understood. Good evidence suggests that renin (REN) might be associated with PE/E. The risk of PE/E is determined by both maternal and foetal genes, but most previous studies have focused on maternal contributions. This study aimed to explore the association of maternal and foetal REN polymorphisms with PE/E in pregnant Han Chinese women.

A case-parents/mother-control study including 347 PE/E patients with their partners and offspring and 700 control mothers with their offspring was conducted. A log-linear model was used to investigate the association between maternal and foetal REN SNPs and PE/E simultaneously, as well as the interaction of REN SNPs and environmental factors on PE/E.

The foetal REN rs5707 AC genotype in combination with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 24 kg/m² was significantly associated with an increased risk of PE/E, with an OR of 2.75 (95%CI = 1.50-5.06). Maternal and foetal rs5707 were significantly associated with an increased risk of PE/E under the recessive model (AA + AC/CC). In haplotype analyses, foetal CCT (in the order of rs2368564, rs5707, rs5705) and TAT genotypes were positively associated with the risk of PE/E. There was no significant association between maternal and foetal REN SNP genotypes and PE/E in the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and log-linear model analysis.

Findings from this study indicate that foetal rs5707 polymorphisms may play a significant role in PE/E development, especially among overweight or obese pregnant women in China.