Analysis of the potential role of Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in genetic predisposition to spontaneous abortion

Citation Rynekrova J, Kasparova D, Adamkova V, Fait T, Hubacek JA. Analysis of the potential role of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in genetic predisposition to spontaneous abortion. Am J Reprod Immunol 2012; 67: 179–183 Problem Up to 20% of pregnancies end in the first trimester by spontaneous abortion, but a significant number remains unexplained. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of variants within the gene for apolipoprotein E (APOE) in the genetic determination of spontaneous abortions. Method of study We collected DNA from 410 tissue samples of spontaneous abortions, and APOE was genotyped by PCR–RFLP method. The frequencies were compared with a population sample of adults (N = 2606) and with a positive control (1060 women with at least two children). Results The frequencies of the APOE genotypes in abortions (APOE2E2 + E3E2 = 0.132; APOE3E3 = 0.661; APOE3E4 + E4E4 = 0.195; APOE4E2 = 0.012) did not significantly differ (P = 0.604) from the frequencies in analyzed adult population study (APOE2E2 + E3E2 = 0.132; APOE3E3 = 0.686; APOE3E4 + E4E4 = 0.169; APOE4E2 = 0.014) or from the positive control (APOE2E2 + E3E2 = 0.133; APOE3E3 = 0.691; APOE3E4 + E4E4 =0.166; APOE4E2 = 0.010; P = 0.592). Conclusion Our study suggests that APOE may not be associated with spontaneous abortions in Caucasians.