Association between methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene C677T polymorphism with preeclampsia in south-east of Iran

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious problem of pregnancy and its etiology is still unknown. There are some evidence that vascular complications play an important role in development of PE. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in folate metabolism and the C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene is associated with decreased MTHFR activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism with PE development in south-east of Iran. This study was performed in 106 preeclamptic pregnant women and 107 control individuals. The C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene was determined by PCR-RFLP method. The CC, CT and TT genotypes frequency of C677T polymorphism of MTHFR gene were 77, 22 and 1 percent in preeclamptic women and 73, 19.5 and 7.5 percent in control group. They were not significantly different (p=0.06). However, the frequency of TT genotype was significantly higher in control group (OR=8.5; 95% CI 1.1-71; p=.018). There was not any significant difference in T allele distribution between preeclamptic women (12%) and control group (17%). Our results showed that there was not any correlation between the C677T polymorphism and PE but the TT genotype of C677T polymorphism seems to be a protective factor for preeclampsia.