Role of Vitamin-D Receptor (VDR) single nucleotide polymorphisms in gestational hypertension development: A case-control study.

Abstract

BackgroundRecent literature data have highlighted the important role of hypovitaminosis D in pregnancy complications and prenatal/perinatal health. Vitamin D action takes place through vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms of VDR gene, FokI and BsmI, have been reported to affect VDR molecular signaling and be associated with several disorders, including hypertension.MethodsWe carried out a case-control study aimed to assess vitamin D serum levels together with the distribution of VDR FokI and BsmI in a population of 116 pregnant women with gestational hypertension (GH) and 69 normotensive pregnant women (CTR).ResultsHypovitaminosis D was largely prevalent both in GH (81%) and CTR (69%) pregnant women. Vitamin D insufficiency (10-30 ng/ml) had a similar frequency in both cohorts (GH 60% vs CTR 58%), while vitamin D deficiency (ConclusionsDespite being preliminary, these findings suggest that genotyping of pregnant women for VDR polymorphisms may be useful for a tailored vitamin D supplementation strategy.