Background: CD46 is a complement regulatory glycoprotein. Certain polymorphic forms of the CD46 gene have been associated with recurrent pregnancy loss in the Caucasian population. We assessed the role of CD46 polymorphism in recurrent spontaneous abortion in our setting, as this has not been done on Indian subjects till date.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was carried out on 44 samples each from women with recurrent spontaneous abortion and normal pregnancy. Genotyping of the CD46 gene was done using 2.5% agarose gel. Statistical analysis was done using the TFPGA software.
Results: The absence of CD46H*1 homozygosity was more pronounced in women with recurrent spontaneous abortion in the Indian population. Of recurrent aborters, 9% had the H*1/*l genotype as compared to 30% of normal pregnant women.
Conclusion: Although our data did not fit the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, this pilot study indicates that further increasing the sample size might clarify whether polymorphism in the first intron of the CD46 gene can be regarded as a risk factor for recurrent spontaneous abortion.