Ethnic differences in key candidate genes for spontaneous preterm birth: TNF-α and its receptors

Objectives: Spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) has a significant ethnic disparity with people of African descent having an almost 2-fold higher incidence than those of European descent in the United States. This disparity may be caused by differences in the distribution of genetic risk factors. The objective of this study is to examine genetic differences between African-Americans and European Americans for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes for PTB. Methods: We examined patterns of variation in 19 SNPs in 3 candidate genes for preterm birth: TNF-α, TNF-receptor 1 and TNF-receptor 2. Allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies were compared between African-Americans (AA) and European-Americans (EA) in cases and controls separately. Both maternal and fetal genotypes were studied, as it is unclear whether one or both of these are important in the etiology of PTB. Results: The vast majority of the SNPs differed significantly between ethnic groups, although there are only a few suggestive results comparing cases and controls within an ethnic group. For TNF-α, four of six SNPs; for TNF-R1, 5/6; and for TNF-R2, 6/7 showed significant differences between ethnic groups in either allele and/or genotype frequency. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate highly significant genetic differences between ethnic groups in genes that may play a role in the risk of PTB.