Polymorphism in Regulatory T-cell (Treg)-Related Genes Is Associated with Unexplained Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

In the absence of confirmed causes for around 50% of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) cases this study was conducted in order to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in regulatory T-cell related STAT3 (rs4796793 C/G), FOXP3 (rs3761548 A/C), LIF (rs3753082 T/C), NKG7 (rs71358833 A/G) and CCR5 (rs34418657 G/T) genes and unexplained RPL in a group of Palestinian women residing in Gaza strip. A retrospective case-control study was carried out during the period (August 2015 to March 2016). A total of 200 females, 100 RPL patients and 100 control women without previous history of RPL, aged 20–35 years were included in the study. STAT3 (rs4796793 C/G), FOXP3 (rs3761548 A/C), LIF (rs375082 T/C), NKG7 (rs71358833 A/G) and CCR5 (rs34418657 G/T) polymorphisms were tested by PCR-RFLP. Statistically significant difference existed between RPL cases and controls in terms of the genotypic distribution of the tested polymorphisms. STAT3 CC, FOXP3 AA, LIF CC, NKG7 AA and CCR5 GG genotypes were significantly higher in the RPL group. The tested polymorphisms shape the first elements of immune tolerance-related risk SNPs panel for RPL in the investigated population and may lead to improved therapeutic approaches