A/C¹¹⁶⁶ gene polymorphism of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and ambulatory blood pressure: The Ohasama Study

We previously investigated the relation between hypertension and each of three major genetic polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin (AGT)-aldosterone system (R-A-A), AGT M235T, angiotensin convert enzyme (ACE) I/D, and CYP11B2 -344C/T, by means of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring in a general Japanese population (the Ohasama Study). A/C¹¹⁶⁶ gene polymorphism in the 3′ untranslated region of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) gene is the final remaining major target in R-A-A to be examined in the Ohasama Study population. In the present study, the AT1 A/C¹¹⁶⁶ polymorphism was genotyped by the TaqMan polymelase chain reaction (PCR) method or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in 802 Japanese subjects aged 40 and over, who were previously genotyped for the AGT M235T, ACE D/I, CYP11B2 -344C/T polymorphisms. The AA genotype, AC genotype, and CC genotype were present in 678 (84.5%), 121 (15.1%), and 3 (0.4%) of subjects, respectively. Since the frequency of the C allele was quite low (0.079), the genotypes were classified according to the presence or absence of the C allele. Although daytime blood pressure (BP) was higher in subjects with the C allele, the difference was not statistically significant after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, and smoking status. No significant difference was noted in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases or nocturnal BP decline between the two groups. These results indicated that AT1 A/C¹¹⁶⁶ polymorphism was not associated with any clinical parameters associated with hypertension or atherosclerosis in the Japanese population.