Background: Pre-eclampsia is the most common critical condition during pregnancy.
Plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1-beta
(IL-1β) increase in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia, compared to normal pregnant
women. Objective: To investigate the polymorphisms of IL-1β (C+3954T), TNF-α (G-
308A), and (G-238A) in preeclemptic women northeastern Iran. Methods: This study
was conducted on 153 preeclamptic women (case group) and 150 healthy pregnant
women (control group), admitted to Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals of Mashhad, Iran.
IL-1β (C+3954T), TNF- α (G-238A) and TNF-α (G-308A) gene polymorphisms in the
promoter region were screened by polymerase chain reaction. Data were analyzed,
using SPSS version 16.0. Results: The mean age of the participants in the case and
control groups was 28.2 ± 6.1 and 27.1 ± 6.3 years, respectively (P=0.68). The
frequency of G-308A polymorphism was significantly higher in the case group,
compared to the control group (p<0.001). However, no significant relationship was
found between IL-1β genotype and pre-eclampsia (p=0.39). The frequency of TNF- α
(G-238A) AA genotype was significantly higher in the case group, while GG genotype
was less frequently detected in the case group, compared to the control group (p<0.001
for both genotypes). Moreover, the frequencies of AA genotypes of -238 TNF-α and G-
308A polymorphisms were significantly higher in the case group, compared to the
control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: The significant correlation between inflammation
promoting genotypes of TNF-α and Pre-eclampsia is noteworthy and provides evidence
on the contribution of immune related genes in this disease.