Association of vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms with ectopic pregnancy among Chinese women

Abstract

To assess the association of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms with ectopic pregnancy (EP) among Chinese women. A case-control study was carried out, which compared 192 women with a history of EP with 210 post-menopausal controls who had two pregnancies but no history of EP for the genotypes of the VEGF gene. Polymorphisms of the VEGF gene including -460C/T, -1154G/A, -2578C/A and +936C/T were determined with a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. No significant difference was found in the genotypic and allelic distribution of the -460C/T and +936C/T polymorphisms between the two groups. Compared with the GG genotype, the VEGF -1154 AA+GA genotype could significantly decrease the risk of EP (OR=0.61, 95%CI: 0.42-0.87). Compared with the CC genotype, VEGF -2578 AA+CA genotype could significantly reduce the risk of EP (OR=0.66, 95%CI:0.44-0.99). Haplotype analysis suggested that the T-A-A (VEGF -460/-1154/-2578) and C-A-A haplotypes could significantly decrease the risk of EP compared with the T-G-C haplotype (P=0.020, OR=0.41, 95%CI:0.19-0.89, P=0.014, OR=0.29, 95%CI:0.11-0.82). The -1154A or -2578A alleles of the VEGF gene can significantly decrease the risk of EP among Chinese women. The VEGF -460C/T, -1154G/A and -2578C/A polymorphisms showed a linkage disequilibrium. Both T-A-A and C-A-A haplotypes can significantly decrease the risk of EP.