627: Cytokine SNPS and their relationship to the development of peripartum cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) has been associated with inflammation. We sought to examine whether SNPs known to affect cytokine production might play a role in PPCM. With IRB approval, we identified patients of the Heart Failure and Transplant Group who were diagnosed with PPCM. PPCM was defined as the presence of cardiac failure during the last month of pregnancy or within five months postpartum, the absence of other etiologies of heart failure, the absence of heart disease prior to the final month of gestation, and the presence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction as defined by echocardiographic criteria. Controls were female subjects identified in this practice who had dilated cardiomyopathy not associated with pregnancy. Genotyping was performed using PCR and pyrosequencing for 6 SNPs (TGF-β −509, TGF-β 29, TNF- −863, TNF- −308, IL-6 −597, and IL-6 −174). Genotypes were compared between those with PPCM and those with dilated cardiomyopathy using chi-square tests. Any comparison which yielded a p-value less than 0.10 was considered a candidate for further study. Genotyping was performed on 31 individuals with PPCM and 19 controls. For all comparisons, there were no differences in the genotypes for the inflammatory gene SNPs in individuals with PPCM versus dilated cardiomyopathy (p > 0.40 for all comparisons). These findings suggest that cytokine polymorphisms in those with PPCM are not markedly different from those with dilated cardiomyopathy. Future studies are necessary, including comparisons to a healthy control group, unaffected by either condition, to further define the role of inflammatory cytokine polymorphisms in this disease.