Scientists Identify Genetic Susceptibility to Pregnancy Complication

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Up to 20 percent of pregnant women may experience preeclampsia, a dangerous precursor to eclampsia, which brings on fatal seizures. Because the most common treatment for preeclampsia is early delivery--which can put both mother and baby at risk--researchers are eager to discover the cause of the disease and develop new treatments. To that end, findings published online this week by the journal Nature Genetics, could help. Scientists report the discovery of a gene associated with susceptibility to preeclampsia.

Marie van Dijk of VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam and her colleagues studied 24 families in which two or more sisters had suffered from preeclampsia. After performing a genetic analysis, the researchers determined that mothers-to-be afflicted with the condition exhibited the same variant of a gene called STOX1. Each woman had inherited the variant from her mother and only this maternal copy was expressed in the placenta when preeclampsia arose. The authors suggest that a malfunction of this gene in the placenta could be responsible for the disease.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American