GWAS require large sample sizes and collaborative efforts. Identifying the maternal and fetal genetic contributions to pre-eclampsia is important for understanding the mechanisms causing this condition.

ALSPAC has already contributed to the GWAS of maternal genotype to hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with the same collaborative group proposing to look at fetal (offspring) genotype with this outcome. That project was done as part of B0757 (WT grant that funded maternal GWAS and had the aim to explore the relationship of maternal genotype to her phenotype in pregnancy and equivalent phenotypes postnatally). Phenotypic data was prepare by DA Lawlor and the GWAS completed by J Kemp. The collaboration is still on-going with a publication likely to be submitted Spring/Summer 2014.

We now wish to build on the existing collaboration and expertise to explore fetal genotype in relation to pre-eclampsia and the broader defined hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) and would like ALSPAC to contribute to that effort. The necessary offspring genome wide data and phenotypic data are available in ALSPAC.

The phenotype dataset, including with restrictions required for the collaboration analysis plan (e.g. singleton pregnancies, no previous hypertension, etc.) has already been prepared by DA Lawlor as it is the same as that used for the mother's GWAS.

GWAS analyses will be conducted by Kaitlin Wade, Phd student who already has experience of completing GWAS analyses with ALSPAC data, will complete the GWAS analyses according to the analysis plan. Her main PhD supervisor (Nic Timpson) has agreed her role on this project. DA Lawlor will provide the phenotypic dataset. All analyses will be conducted at the SSCM, University of Bristol and there is no need for involvement of a data buddy or material transfer agreement.