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Maternal iNOS genetic polymorphisms and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 26, pages 547–552 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Increased expression and activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may contribute to the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH). However, no previous study has examined whether genetic polymorphisms in the iNOS gene are associated with PE or GH. We examined whether two functional, clinically relevant iNOS genetic polymorphisms (the C−1026A polymorphism, rs2779249, in the promoter region, and the G2087A polymorphism, rs2297518, in exon 16) are associated with GH or with PE. We studied 565 pregnant women: 212 healthy pregnant (HP), 166 pregnant with GH and 187 pregnant with PE. Genotypes were determined by real-time PCR, using the Taqman allele discrimination assay. The PHASE 2.1 program was used to estimate haplotype distributions in the three study groups. We found no significant association between the C−1026A polymorphism and PE or GH (P>0.05). However, we found the GA genotype and the A allele for the G2087A polymorphism at higher frequency in PE, but not in GH, compared with HP (P<0.05). The haplotype analysis showed no significant intergroup differences (P>0.05). These findings suggest that iNOS genetic variants may affect the susceptibility to PE, but not to GH.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

    L M Amaral, M R Luizon & J E Tanus-Santos

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicinal Sciences, University of Campinas, State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

    A C T Palei

  3. Núcleo de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa Santa Casa of Belo Horizonte, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    V C Sandrim

  4. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

    R C Cavalli & G Duarte

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  1. L M Amaral
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  2. A C T Palei
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Correspondence to J E Tanus-Santos.

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Amaral, L., Palei, A., Sandrim, V. et al. Maternal iNOS genetic polymorphisms and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. J Hum Hypertens 26, 547–552 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2011.65

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