Vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms in spontaneously aborted fetuses.

PROBLEMS: The VEGF-1154G>A polymorphism has been reported to be a genetic risk factor for recurrent spontaneous abortion in various studies; however, these studies have focused on genetic analyses of pregnant women rather than aborted fetuses. To evaluate and confirm the association between the VEGF-1154G>A polymorphism and spontaneous abortion, we focused on the relationship between four polymorphisms in the VEGF gene (-2578C>A, -1154G>A, -634G>C, and 936C>T) and spontaneously aborted fetuses (SAFs).

METHOD OF STUDY: The subjects included 118 SAFs at <20 weeks gestation and 380 normal controls consisting of children and adults. The polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

RESULTS

Spontaneously aborted fetuses exhibited significantly different frequencies of the -2578CA+AA/-634CC and -1154GA+AA/-634CC combined genotypes compared with control subjects. The frequency of the -2578A/-1154A/-634C/936C haplotype was significantly higher in SAFs.

CONCLUSIONS

VEGF genes -2578CA+AA/-634CC and -1154GA+AA/-634CC in the fetus are possible risk factors for spontaneous abortion.