Background: Half of all venous thromboembolism (VTE) cases during pregnancy are associated with a maternal thrombophilia. The influence of paternal genotype on the placenta and in the genesis of VTE has not been described.
Objectives: To determine if the maternal and paternal Ser219Gly dimorphism of the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), evaluated through detection of the PROCR 6936G allele, is a risk factor for VTE during pregnancy.
Methods: Using a case-control study nested in the NOHA first cohort of primigravidae, 66 patient couples with a first episode of gestational VTE and randomly selected non-thrombotic control couples were investigated. For each couple, factor V gene (F5) G1691A, factor II gene (F2) G20210A, factor XII gene (F12) C46T and PROCR A6936G polymorphisms were determined.
Results: Only maternal F5 1691A, F2 20210A and F12 46T alleles were independently associated with iliac and infra-iliac deep vein thromboses (DVT). The maternal PROCR 6936G allele was a mild risk factor for iliac DVT (OR = 5.5 [2.3-13.0]). The paternal PROCR 6936G allele was also a mild independent risk factor for iliac DVT (OR = 2.6 [1.1-6.2]) and only during pregnancy (rather than postpartum) among maternal carriers of the F5 1691A allele (OR = 77.6 [4.2 to > 999.9]).
Conclusions: The paternal PROCR 6936G allele could be a risk factor for maternal iliac DVT. Its impact was milder than the F5 1691A and F2 20210A polymorphisms in mothers. We hypothesize that the prothrombotic effect of the paternal PROCR 6936G allele is localized. Therefore, DVT during pregnancy may be influenced by trophoblastic cell-surface proteins inherited from both maternal and paternal alleles.