Contribution of TIMP3 polymorphisms to the development of preeclampsia in Han Chinese women

The aim of this study was to investigate whether polymorphisms in the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 gene (TIMP3) are associated with the risk of preeclampsia (PE) in Han Chinese women.Nine single TIMP3 tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms were selected by Haploview and genotyped using the Sequenom method in 181 preeclamptic and 203 healthy pregnant women from eastern China.The allele frequencies of the tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms were not significantly different between groups (P 0.05). However, the genotype distribution of rs135025 was shown to differ between the multigravidity PE subgroup (3) and controls under additive (P = 0.018) and recessive models (P = 0.008), while the genotype distribution of rs80272 differed significantly between the severe PE subgroup and controls under additive (P = 0.014) and dominant models (P = 0.041). Moreover, the H2 haplotype (A-C-G-T-A-A-G-C-G) was found to be associated with the risk of PE (P = 0.035).Genotypes of rs135025 and rs80272 in TIMP3 may therefore influence susceptibility to PE, and pregnant women carrying the H2 haplotype might be more prone to developing PE.