Polymorphisms of TGF-β1 and TGF-β3 in Chinese women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a pregnancy-specific carbohydrate intolerance Which can cause a large number of perinatal and postpartum complications. The members of Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily play key roles in the homeostasis of pancreatic beta-cell and may involve in the development of GDM. This study aimed to explore the association between the polymorphisms of TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 3 and the risk to GDM in Chinese women. Methods This study included 919 GDM patients (464 with preeclampsia and 455 without preeclampsia) and 1177 healthy pregnant women. TaqMan allelic discrimination real-Time PCR was used to genotype the TGF-beta 1 (rs4803455) and TGF-beta 3 (rs2284792 and rs3917201), The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was evaluated by chi-square test. Results An increased frequency of TGF-beta 3 rs2284792 AA and AG genotype carriers was founded in GDM patients (AA vs. AG + GG: chi(2) = 6.314, P = 0.012, OR = 1.270, 95%CI 1.054-1.530; AG vs. GG + AA: chi(2) = 8.545, P = 0.003, OR = 0.773, 95%CI 0.650-0.919). But there were no significant differences in the distribution of TGF-beta 1 rs4803455 and TGF-beta 3 rs3917201 between GDM and healthy women. In addition, no significant differences were found in allele and genotype frequencies among GDM patients with preeclampsia (PE). Conclusions The AA and AG genotype of TGF-beta 3 rs2284792 polymorphism may be significantly associated with increased risk of GDM in Chinese population.