Vascular endothelial growth factor genotypes and haplotypes are associated with pre-eclampsia but not with gestational hypertension

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is relevant for normalpregnancy, and abnormalities in VEGF functions are associatedwith hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Because there arefew studies on how VEGF genetic polymorphisms affect susceptibilityto pre-eclampsia (PE), and no studies on how they affect susceptibilityto gestational hypertension (GH), we compared VEGF genotypeand haplotype distributions in normotensive and hypertensivepregnancies. Genotypes and haplotypes for VEGF polymorphisms(C-2578A, G-1154A and G-634C) were determined in 303 pregnantwomen (108 healthy pregnant, HP; 101 with GH and 94 with PE).When white and non-white pregnant women were considered together,no significant differences were found in the distributions ofVEGF genotypes or haplotypes (P > 0.05) in the three groups.However, with only white subjects, significant differences werefound in genotypes distributions for two (C-2578A and G-634C)VEGF polymorphisms (both P < 0.05) between the HP and thePE groups. Importantly, the haplotype including the variantsC-2578, G-1154 and C-634, which is associated with higher VEGFgene expression, was less common in the PE group compared withthe HP group (4% versus 16%; P = 0.0047). However, we foundno significant differences in VEGF haplotypes distributionswhen the HP and GH groups were compared (P > 0.05). Thesefindings suggest a protective effect for the ‘C-2578,G-1154 and C-634’ haplotype against the development ofPE, but no major effects of VEGF gene variants on susceptibilityto GH.