The association of pre-eclampsia with the Duffy negative phenotype in women of West African descent

Objective To investigate whether pre-eclampsia in Curacao is associated with the Duffy negative phenotype. Design Retrospective study. Setting Population Methods Results Women with a history of pre-eclampsia had a higher Duffy negative phenotype frequency compared with women with a history of uncomplicated pregnancies (52.8 vs 27.3%, respectively; odds ratio 2.98; 95% CI 1.40-6.32; P = 0.004). Conclusions Pre-eclampsia is associated with the Duffy negative phenotype in women of West-African descent in the island of Curacao

High serum interleukin-8 levels in Afro-Caribbean women with pre-eclampsia. Relations with tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Duffy negative phenotype and von Willebrand factor

PROBLEM: Pre-eclampsia is characterized by neutrophil activation. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a strong neutrophil chemo-attractant and activator. METHOD OF STUDY: We measured serum IL-8 in 13 pre-eclamptic Afro-Caribbean women and 13 gestational age-, race- and parity-matched normotensive and non-proteinuric controls. We also determined serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), the phenotypes of the IL-8 binding Duffy blood group antigen receptor and the von Willebrand factor (vWF) plasma levels. RESULTS: Serum IL-8, TNF-alpha, Duffy negative phenotype frequency and plasma vWF were higher in pre-eclamptic women compared with controls. IL-8 correlated positively with both TNF-alpha and vWF in the entire study group. CONCLUSIONS: Higher IL-8 levels in pre-eclampsia may result from increased production (secondary to increased TNF-alpha levels) and/or reduced clearance (related to a high frequency of Duffy negative phenotype)