Fibrinogen and factor VII promoter polymorphisms in women with preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether genetic variability in the promoter regions of the genes encoding fibrinogen and factor VII contribute 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 the G-455A polymorphism in the beta-fibrinogen gene promoter and for a decamer insertion or deletion polymorphism at position -323 in the factor VII gene promoter. We used chi(2) analysis to assess genotype frequency differences between preeclamptic women and controls. RESULTS: The allelic distribution of the fibrinogen A-455G polymorphism was similar in the two groups, with the frequency of the variant A allele being 18.8% in the preeclampsia group and 20.9% in the control group. We did not find any association between the presence of the factor VII insertion allele and preeclampsia (5.6% versus 6.1%). Accordingly, the genotype distribution of the fibrinogen G-455A and factor VII polymorphisms in the preeclamptic and control groups was similar (P =.852 and P =.308). CONCLUSION: The G-455A polymorphism of the fibrinogen gene promoter and the decamer insertion or deletion polymorphism of the factor VII gene promoter are unlikely to be major genetic predisposing factors for preeclampsia in subjects from eastern Finland.