The genetic variant C825T of the beta 3 subunit of G protein is associated with hypertension in a Portuguese population

Meta-analysis of the genetic association between maternal GNB3 C825T polymorphism and risk of pre-eclampsia

BACKGROUND

The relationship between the C825T polymorphism of GNB3 (encoding G-protein β3 subunit) and pre-eclampsia risk is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically explore the association between GNB3 C825T and pre-eclampsia.

SEARCH STRATEGY

PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched to September 1, 2020, using keywords including "GNB3 C825T" and "pre-eclampsia".

SELECTION CRITERIA

Case-control and cohort studies investigating the relationship between GNB3 C825T polymorphism and pre-eclampsia were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two reviewers collected the data independently and calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

MAIN RESULTS

The meta-analysis involved eight studies from seven publications, including 2071 cases and 3419 controls. Overall analysis showed that GNB3 C825T was associated with increased pre-eclampsia risk in the recessive model (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.01-1.44; P = 0.04). Subgroup analysis stratified by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium revealed a relationship between GNB3 C825T and increased risk of pre-eclampsia in the allelic (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.34-2.05; P < 0.001), homozygous (OR, 2.12, 95% CI, 1.04-4.32; P  = 0.04), dominant (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.18-3.11; P = 0.009), and recessive (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.03-2.81; P = 0.04) models.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal GNB3 C825T polymorphism seems to be a risk factor for pre-eclampsia.

The Emerging Role of Gβ Subunits in Human Genetic Diseases

Environmental stimuli are perceived and transduced inside the cell through the activation of signaling pathways. One common type of cell signaling transduction network is initiated by G-proteins. G-proteins are activated by G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and transmit signals from hormones, neurotransmitters, and other signaling factors, thus controlling a number of biological processes that include synaptic transmission, visual photoreception, hormone and growth factors release, regulation of cell contraction and migration, as well as cell growth and differentiation. G-proteins mainly act as heterotrimeric complexes, composed of alpha, beta, and gamma subunits. In the last few years, whole exome sequencing and biochemical studies have shown causality of disease-causing variants in genes encoding G-proteins and human genetic diseases. This review focuses on the G-protein β subunits and their emerging role in the etiology of genetically inherited rare diseases in humans.