Faulty genes found in pregnancy illness that kills 1,000 babies a year

Three faulty genes have been found that put women at risk of pre-eclampsia, the potentially dangerous high blood pressure that affects one in 20 pregnancies.

The breakthrough could lead to drugs to prevent the condition.

Pre-eclampsia usually develops after the 20th week of pregnancy. It kills around ten women and 1,000 unborn babies a year in Britain and is responsible for around 15 per cent of premature births.












It is caused by the breakdown of the placenta which delivers nutrients and oxygen to an unborn baby.

Because the cause of pre-eclampsia is unknown, there are no reliable ways to predict who will suffer from it.

But scientists have long suspected that pre-eclampsia is linked to problems with the immune system.

U.S. researchers studied 250 pregnant women with lupus or a similar immune disorder. Thirty developed pre-eclampsia, while ten had suffered previously.

In these 40, scientists looked at three genes involved in the body’s immune response – and found seven women had mutations in at least one of these genes.
They also discovered mutations in five of 59 women with pre-eclampsia who were otherwise healthy, says PLoS Medicine journal.

The three genes are linked to a rare and potentially fatal condition called atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome that triggers an ‘out of control’ immune response.

A drug that treats the condition is in clinical trials. The scientists believe it may be possible to adapt it to treat pre-eclampsia.

Dr John Atkinson, of Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, said: 'We’re going to need to confirm these links in a larger study but if they are validated it may be possible to develop better ways to identify and treat women at risk.'

Scientists have long suspected that pre-eclampsia is linked to problems with the immune system. Women suffering from lupus and other autoimmune disorders are more likely to have the condition.

A drug that treats the condition is now in clinical trials. The scientists believe it may be possible to adapt the drug to treat pre-eclampsia.

Co-author of the study Dr Jane Salmon of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said: 'This study identifies the first genetic risk factors associated with pre-eclampsia in patients with lupus and also validates these risk factors in a population of patients who do not have an autoimmune disease.'