Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Human Tumor Necrosis Factor-
and Interleukin 1- Genes in Patients with Pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome that may be dangerous especially to the fetus. Different cytokines have been found to be elevated in women with pre-eclampsia and may have possible roles in the development of this disorder. Alleles of the interleukin-l beta (IL-l) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-%) genes are associated with pr-eeclampsia in several studies in different populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between IL-l (C+3954T) and TNF-% (G-308A) gene polymorphisms with preeclampsia in north east of Iran (Khorasan province). This study included 54 diagnosed patients with pre-eclampsia and 50 normal pregnant women as control group. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and the polymorphisms were determined by PCR-RFLP method. Data was analyzed using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. There was significant association between TNF-% (G-308A) genotype and pre-eclampsia (p=0.001) but we did not find any significant association between IL-l (C+3954T) genotype and pre-eclampsia (p=0.39). The present study might suggest a role for TNF-% in the development of pre-eclampsia; however, IL-l (C+3954T) polymorphism could not be considered as a marker of susceptibility to preeclampsia in our population.