Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of Interleukin-27 Gene: A RiskFactor of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss in Iraqi Women

Background: Studies have investigated the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of interleukins and the recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). However, different results have been found in different spots of the world. Studies on the association between the IL-27(-964 A>G) polymorphism and RPL are scarce. This is the first study shows the implication of IL-27(-964 A>G) polymorphism in RPL. Objective: This study aims to investigate the association between RPL and interleukin-27(-964 A>G) polymorphism in Iraqi women. Materials and methods: From September 2013 to September 2014, 100 women, as a control group, and 100 women (with three or more consecutive pregnancy loss), as a study group were chosen to investigate the association between the IL-27(-964 A>G) SNP and the RPL. The IL-27(-964 A>G) SNP was determined using polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRRFLP) technique. Genotype and allele frequencies in study group were compared with those in the control group using Fisher tests. Results are considered to be statistically significant if p-value is less than 0.05. Results: The age and the body mass index were not significantly different between the two groups. The frequencies of genotypes of IL-27 polymorphism in the RPL group were AG (60%), AA (31%) and GG (9%); while in control group were AG (21%), AA (68%) and GG (11%). The genotype frequencies of the -964 A>G SNP was significantly different between the study and the control group (p=0.007). Allele frequencies of this polymorphism were A (35%) and G (65%) in RPL group versus A (61%) and G (39%) in the control group. The frequencies of A and G alleles were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Our findings show that IL-27 (-964 A>G) polymorphism is considered a risk factor of RPL in Iraqi women which was different from what has been found previously; this might implicate other factors in the RPL.