Polymorphism of the ADRB2 gene as a predictor of preterm birth
Tocolytic therapy with the use of β2-agonist hexoprenaline is used to prolong pregnancy. Polymorphisms of the ADRB2 gene can affect the efficacy and safety of this drug, including missense mutations associated with the Gly16Arg and Gln27Glu substitutions. Objective. To study the role of the ADRB2 gene polymorphism in preterm birth, as well as the efficiency and safety of tocolytic therapy with hexoprenaline. Patients and methods. 120 pregnant women were examined. The main group included 60 pregnant women who were at risk of preterm birth and to whom intravenous tocolytic therapy with hexoprenaline was performed. In the control group (n = 60), there was a woman whose pregnancy was not accompanied by the threat of preterm birth, and delivery itself was emergency and spontaneous. The identification of the Gly16Arg and Gln27Glu polymorphisms of the ADRB2 gene was carried out by the PCR-RFLP method. Results. In pregnant women with the threat of premature labor, the 16Arg allele (p = 0.028) was less common, and the 16Gly/Gly genotype (p = 0.027) of the ADRB2 gene was reliably more common. Adverse reactions to hexoprenaline occured in 53% of pregnant women: in 47%, it was tachycardia, in 6% – headache. Their incidence was not associated with the ADRB2 gene polymorphism. Conclusion. The effectiveness of hexoprenaline is lower in the carriers of genotypes indicating high or low expression of β2-adrenoreceptors. Key words: hexoprenaline, genotyping, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, preterm birth, tocolytic therapy, ADRB2