The polymorphic C677T mutation in the gene encoding 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase has been shown to be a risk factor for pre-eclampsia in Japanese and European women when inherited as a homozygous trait. We attempted to verify these findings in a black African population with a high incidence of pre-eclampsia. No difference in frequency of the T-allele was observed in 105 women with pre-eclampsia, compared with 110 healthy pregnant normotensive women. Only one woman with pre-eclampsia was TT homozygous, suggesting that methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism is not an important factor in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia in black South African women.
PIP: This study aims to determine whether the C677T 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism plays any role as a risk factor for preeclampsia in black South African women. A total of 105 pregnant women with preeclampsia were included in the study and were subjected to several tests. Test results showed that the MTHFR genotypes and allele frequencies in the study group and control group have no significant difference in the frequencies of the homozygous TT genotype or the T-allele. Among the respondents, only one woman with preeclampsia was homozygous for the C677T mutation. Findings indicate that preeclampsia in black South African women affects 18% of pregnancies. In addition, the C677T mutation cannot be considered an important factor in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia in this study population. Further studies are required for clarifications concerning these issues.