The COMT Val158Met Polymorphism is Significantly Associated with Early Onset Preeclampsia in Both African American and Caucasian Mothers

The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal and infant Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphisms of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT), a reported indicator of preeclamptic risk, in a United States population. Healthy control, early-onset preeclamptic, and late-onset preeclamptic patients were enrolled in this study. Genomic DNA was isolated from mothers and infants via buccal swabs and DNA was genotyped via tetra-primer amplification PCR. Our findings indicate that the COMT genotype was not significantly associated with late-onset PE. While there were no significant differences between African American and Caucasian races, the maternal COMT^Met158Met genotype was significantly associated with early-onset preeclampsia in both African Americans and Caucasians when compared to COMT^Val158Val or COMT^Val158Met. These results suggest that the maternal COMT^Met158Met genotype may be a risk factor for early-onset PE.