HPA-1 gene polymorphism in Iranian couples with history of recurrent abortion

  Recurrent abortion is referred to a condition that 2 or 3 consecutive pregnancies are affected by abortions before the 20th week of gestation, which is likely to occur in 2-5% of pregnancies. There are some etiologic factors such as anatomical, infectious and immunological elements. One of these immunological factors is the polymorphism of the HPA-1 gene as a factor able to cause FNAIT and its related complications; besides it contributes to abortion as a thrombophilic gene. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of HPA-1 incompatibility in Iranian couples with a history of recurrent abortions.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, totally 75 couples with at least two recurrent pregnancy losses without any specified causes (according to the medical records obtained from the infertility center) were entered to the study. Four-ml blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes and the allelic frequency of HPA-1 was determined by PCR-SSP. Gene frequency was calculated using the Hardy Weinberg equation. The p< 0.05 was considered significant.

Totally 75 couples were included with the average age of women being 32 ± 7 years and the mean number of abortions 2.5 ± 0.9. HPA-1a was found in 100% of the under study population, and HPA-1b was absent in this population.

Conclusions
This study revealed that HPA-1a gene polymorphism does not have the likelihood of being involved in the recurrent abortion in Iranian couples, and other factors need to be investigated to determine the possible causes of recurrent abortion.