Molecular Analysis of HLA-G in Women with High-Risk Pregnancy and Their Partners with Regard to Possible Complications

Abstract

The understanding of the molecular and biochemical characteristics of the human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is important because of the diverse influence of this antigen’s polymorphisms on the course of a pregnancy. The aim of our study was to assess how the variation of the HLA-G allele and the HLA-G 14-bp ins/del polymorphism influence predisposition to a complicated pregnancy. The clinical material consisted of parental pairs with complicated pregnancies (210 women; 190 men). The control group included parental pairs without complications during pregnancy (89 women; 86 men). The study involved isolation of genome DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes, sequencing, and analysis of the 14-bp ins/del polymorphism in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of the HLA-G gene based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The most common HLA-G allele in the group of women with complicated pregnancies was the HLA-G 10101 allele. There were no statistically significant differences in the frequencies of the 14-bp ins/del polymorphism in the 3′UTR of the HLA-G gene between the groups. Our results suggest that the risk of complications in pregnancy is influenced by the HLA-G 10101, HLA-G 10108, and HLA-G 10106 alleles and is not influenced by the 14-bp ins/del polymorphism in the 3′UTR of the HLA-G gene.

Association of Soluble HLA-G Plasma Level and HLA-G Genetic Polymorphism With Pregnancy Outcome of Patients Undergoing in vitro Fertilization Embryo Transfer

“…However, a recently published meta-analysis (37) on the impact of 14-bp ins/del polymorphism in recurrent miscarriage after natural or artificial conception revealed that women of European countries with the HLA-G 14-bp insertion/insertion homozygous genotype have a significantly higher prevalence of recurrent miscarriage. A study among another Polish group (53) indicated that the frequencies of the 14-bp ins/del genotypes in the 3 ′ -UTR of the HLA-G gene in groups with reproductive disorders did not report significant differences with the control group, and this result is concordant with our study. However, they suggest that the risk of complications in pregnancy is influenced rather by the particular alleles like HLA-G 10101, HLA-G 10108, and HLA-G 10106, not SNPs.…”

HLA‐G: Function, polymorphisms and pathology

“…Further studies related pregnancy success to other HLA‐G polymorphisms: some groups concluded that the risk of complications in pregnancy is influenced by the HLA‐G 10101, HLA‐G 10108, and HLA‐G 10106 alleles and is not influenced by the 14‐bp ins/del polymorphism in the 3'UTR of the HLA‐G gene (Sipak et al., 2019) or that the association of HLA‐G with recurrent miscarriage was not related to single polymorphisms in the 3'‐UTR, but rather depended on haplotypes, such as the UTR‐4 haplotype, which included +3003C, and was found significantly lower in women with recurrent miscarriage (Meuleman et al., 2018).…”

Frequency of HLA‑G UTR‑1/UTR‑3/UTR‑7 in women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion

“…Koc et al (26) found that the deletion of 14-bp was more common in the examined abortion group, but the difference was not significant. By contrast, Hashemi et al (21) and Sipak et al (27) showed that the HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism may confer RSA risk. Although other studies have evaluated the role of 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphisms in RSA, the results remain controversial (6,13,(22)(23).…”