Impact of the 1425G/A polymorphism of PRKCH on the recurrence of ischemic stroke: Fukuoka Stroke Registry

Importance of Genetic Studies of Cardiometabolic Disease in Diverse Populations

Genome-wide association studies have revolutionized our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of cardiometabolic disease. Yet, the inadequate representation of individuals of diverse ancestral backgrounds in these studies may undercut their ultimate potential for both public health and precision medicine. The goal of this review is to describe the imperativeness of studying the populations who are most affected by cardiometabolic disease, to the aim of better understanding the genetic underpinnings of the disease. We support this premise by describing the current variation in the global burden of cardiometabolic disease and emphasize the importance of building a globally and ancestrally representative genetics evidence base for the identification of population-specific variants, fine-mapping, and polygenic risk score estimation. We discuss the important ethical, legal, and social implications of increasing ancestral diversity in genetic studies of cardiometabolic disease and the challenges that arise from the (1) lack of diversity in current reference populations and available analytic samples and the (2) unequal generation of health-associated genomic data and their prediction accuracies. Despite these challenges, we conclude that additional, unprecedented opportunities lie ahead for public health genomics and the realization of precision medicine, provided that the gap in diversity can be systematically addressed. Achieving this goal will require concerted efforts by social, academic, professional and regulatory stakeholders and communities, and these efforts must be based on principles of equity and social justice.

Influence of PRKCH gene polymorphism on antihypertensive response to amlodipine and telmisartan

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of PRKCH rs2230500 genetic polymorphism on efficacy of amlodipine and telmisartan for patients with hypertension. A total of 136 essential hypertension (EH) patients were treated with amlodipine (70 patients) or telmisartan (66 patients), respectively. Genetic polymorphism was genotyped by Sanger sequencing. Both baseline and post-treatment blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured to evaluate the influence of genetic polymorphism on the antihypertensive response. No significant difference in the absolute decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP),systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was observed among PRKCH rs2230500 genotypes after 4-week amlodipine or telmisartan therapy (p > 0.05). However, when compared with carriers or GG genotype, the antihypertensive effect of PRKCH rs2230500 GA/AA carriers was superior in telmisartan treatment group. PRKCH rs2230500 gene polymorphism is significantly related to the efficiency in telmisartan therapy (p = 0.02). The PRKCH rs2230500 may influence the antihypertensive efficacy of telmisartan in Chinese EH patients, and further studies are needed to confirm these findings.