Associations Between Genetic Polymorphisms of Beta-2 Adrenergic Receptor and Preterm Delivery in Korean Women

Problem: We investigated genetic polymorphisms to understand the etiology of preterm delivery, which involves inflammatory cytokines and uterine contraction. Maternal polymorphisms of ADRB2, iNOS, and eNOS were examined, and associations between these and the risk of preterm delivery were sought. Method of Study: This study was performed on 166 Korean women who underwent preterm delivery and 289 normal controls. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify single genes and haplotypes that affect the risk of preterm delivery. Results: The G/G haplotype of ADRB2-rs1042713 and -rs1042714 was found to be associated with the risk of preterm delivery (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.08-3.33, P-value = 0.0252). The genotype frequency of G allele in ADRB2-rs1042714 was associated with increased the risk of preterm delivery. However, after the adjustment of multiple comparison corrections, the association with preterm delivery was not remained significantly. Conclusion: These findings possibly aid our understanding of the pathogenesis of preterm delivery and suggest that a haplotype with variants in maternal genes involved in adrenergic activation may lead to the dysregulation of uterine contractility and increase the risk of preterm delivery.