Risk given by AGT polymorphisms in inducing susceptibility to essential hypertension among isolated populations from a remote region of China: A case-control study among the isolated populations

Haplotype-based association study between PRCP gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension in Hani minority group from a remote region of China

Objective:

Prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP) is both involved in the Kallikrein-Kinin system (KKS) and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). This study aimed to determine the genetic impact of PRCP gene polymorphisms on essential hypertension (EH) in an isolated population from a remote region of China.

Methods:

A haplotype-based study was investigated in 346 EH patients and 346 normal subjects and all samples were Hani minority residents in Southwest China. A total of 11 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PRCP gene were tested by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

Results:

Single site analysis found that PRCP gene 3′UTR SNP rs3750931 was associated with EH. The minor allele G of rs3750931 was more prevalent in the EH patients compared to control subjects after Bonferroni correction (p < 0.05). Moreover, the rs3750931 G allele carriers showed higher average blood pressure (BP) level among the subjects. The H2 (GAGCACTAACA) haplotype without rs3750931 G allele showed the protective effect for EH (OR = 0.68, 95 CI 0.54–0.85, p = 0.001).

Conclusion:

The present study indicated PRCP gene rs3750931 was associated with the risk of EH. This SNP G allele could be considered as one of risk markers for EH in Hani population.

Genetic association study of prolylcarboxypeptidase polymorphisms with susceptibility to essential hypertension in the Yi minority of China: A case-control study based on an isolated population

Objective:

Prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP) is a negative regulator of the pressor actions of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. It is also involved in the kallikrein–kinin system. This gene has an important role in blood pressure (BP) regulation.

Methods:

A case–control study was performed for 615 Yi participants (303 cases and 312 controls) from a remote mountainous area in Yunnan Province of China. For the PRCP gene, 11 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

Results:

The PRCP gene rs12290550 was associated with the occurrence of essential hypertension (EH) and BP traits. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the rs12290550 T allele was significantly linked to the risk of EH (odds ratio (OR) = 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44–2.39, p = 0.2 × 10⁻⁵). Under Bonferroni correction, the H7 TAGCACTAACA haplotype containing the risk allele rs12290550 T increased the risk of EH (OR = 4.53, 95% CI 2.29–8.93, p = 0.2×10⁻⁵).

Conclusions:

The findings of this study demonstrate the strong association of the PRCP gene with EH. rs12290550 may be a useful genetic predictor of EH in the Yi minority.

Genetics of Human Primary Hypertension: Focus on Hormonal Mechanisms

Increasingly, primary hypertension is being considered a syndrome and not a disease, with the individual causes (diseases) having a common sign-an elevated blood pressure. To determine these causes, genetic tools are increasingly employed. This review identified 62 proposed genes. However, only 21 of them met our inclusion criteria: (i) primary hypertension, (ii) two or more supporting cohorts from different publications or within a single publication or one supporting cohort with a confirmatory genetically modified animal study, and (iii) 600 or more subjects in the primary cohort; when including our exclusion criteria: (i) meta-analyses or reviews, (ii) secondary and monogenic hypertension, (iii) only hypertensive complications, (iv) genes related to blood pressure but not hypertension per se, (v) nonsupporting studies more common than supporting ones, and (vi) studies that did not perform a Bonferroni or similar multiassessment correction. These 21 genes were organized in a four-tiered structure: distant phenotype (hypertension); intermediate phenotype [salt-sensitive (18) or salt-resistant (0)]; subintermediate phenotypes under salt-sensitive hypertension [normal renin (4), low renin (8), and unclassified renin (6)]; and proximate phenotypes (specific genetically driven hypertensive subgroup). Many proximate hypertensive phenotypes had a substantial endocrine component. In conclusion, primary hypertension is a syndrome; many proposed genes are likely to be false positives; and deep phenotyping will be required to determine the utility of genetics in the treatment of hypertension. However, to date, the positive genes are associated with nearly 50% of primary hypertensives, suggesting that in the near term precise, mechanistically driven treatment and prevention strategies for the specific primary hypertension subgroups are feasible.

Genomics of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common clinical arrhythmia that appears to be highly heritable, despite representing a complex interplay of several disease processes that generally do not manifest until later in life. In this manuscript, we will review the genetic basis of this complex trait established through studies of familial AF, linkage and candidate gene studies of common AF, genome wide association studies (GWAS) of common AF, and transcriptomic studies of AF. Since AF is associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke, we also review the intersection of common genetic factors associated with both of these conditions. Similarly, we highlight the intersection of common genetic markers associated with some risk factors for AF, such as hypertension and obesity, and AF. Lastly, we describe a paradigm where genetic factors predispose to the risk of AF, but which may require additional stress and trigger factors in older age to allow for the clinical manifestation of AF.