Association of preeclampsia with infant APOL1 genotype in African Americans

Abstract

Black women in the United States and Africa are at an increased risk for preeclampsia. Allelic variants in the gene for apolipoprotein LI, APOL1, are found only in populations of African ancestry, and have been shown to contribute significant risk for kidney disease in black populations worldwide. Recent studies suggest a recessive inheritance pattern of the infant, but not maternal, carriage of APOL1 variants also may contribute risk for preeclampsia. We evaluated the association of preeclampsia with carriage of APOL1 risk alleles in the infant, and assessed potential correlates between placental pathology and APOL1 genotype. The association of fetal APOL1 variants with preeclampsia was evaluated in a case-control study of deliveries from black women at a single center in Cleveland, Ohio, that included gross and histopathologic evaluations of placental tissues.