Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether fetal carriage of specific alleles of the polymorphic interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene is associated with variations in intra-amniotic cytokine levels and previous pregnancy outcomes.
Study design: Fetal cells in midtrimester amniotic fluid from 189 women were tested for interleukin-1 receptor antagonist intron 2 length polymorphisms. Concentrations of cytokines in amniotic fluid were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pregnancy history data were obtained subsequently.
Results: Homozygosity for interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 1 was detected in 13 of 17 fetuses (76.5%) from women whose previous pregnancies all ended in spontaneous abortions, as compared with 33 of 74 fetuses (44.6%) from women with at least 1 previous term birth ( P = .02). Fetal carriage of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 2 was associated with only 1 (5.9%) previous spontaneous abortion, as opposed to 31 pregnancies (41.9%) that were associated with a previous term delivery ( P = .004). A similar relationship between interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 1 and spontaneous abortions was observed when pregnancies of white women only were analyzed. Median mid trimester amniotic fluid interleukin-1beta concentrations were higher in women whose previous pregnancies ended in term deliveries (15.7 pg/mL), as opposed to women with 1 to 2 (6.4 pg/mL; P = .04) or > or =3 (4.1 pg/mL; P = .007) previous spontaneous abortions. Fetal carriage of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 2 was associated with elevated intra-amniotic interleukin-1beta levels (16.2 pg/mL), as compared with interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 1 homozygotes (10.8 pg/mL; P = .03).
Conclusion: Fetal carriage of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist allele 1 is associated with reduced intra-amniotic interleukin-1beta concentrations and an increased occurrence of spontaneous abortions in previous pregnancies.