Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related condition that affects both the infant and the mother. Although the role of various inflammatory molecules in PE has been demonstrated, the importance of pro-inflammatory molecules such as IL-17A, IL-23 is not well understood. In the present investigation, a potential association of common genetic variants in the IL-17A and IL-23A genes with PE was investigated.
Methods: 115 PE clinically diagnosed patients who registered to the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital were enrolled in this research. One hundred two pregnant women and 147 healthy Chinese women were also included. ELISA was used to measure IL-17A and IL-23 serum levels in all enrolled subjects. Common genetic polymorphisms in IL-17A (rs 2,275,913, rs1974226, and rs1974226), IL-23A (rs11171806), and IL-12B (rs3212227) were genotyped using the PCR-RFLP or TaqMan probe-based method.
Results: Elevated serum IL-17A levels were found in PE patients compared to pregnant (P < 0.0001) and healthy women (P < 0.0001). However, IL-23 levels were comparable across various clinical groups. In addition, heterozygous (GA) and minor allele (A) for IL-17A (rs2275913) and IL-23A (rs11171806) were more prevalent in PE patients compared to pregnant women indicating an important role in the predisposition to PE growth. Interestingly, IL-17A (r 2,275,913) mutants were associated with elevated IL-17A levels relative to wild type (GG).
Conclusions: IL-17A (rs2275913) variants are associated with higher serum levels of cytokine, and predisposed PE development.
Keywords: Gene polymorphism; IL-17A; IL-23A; Preeclampsia; Serum levels.