Effects of Interactions among Gene Polymorphisms of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System on Hypertension in Turkish People from Southeast Anatolia

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertension (HT) is characterized by high blood pressure. The reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a crucial role in blood pressure (BP) regulation by maintaining vascular tone and the water-sodium balance. We aimed to investigate whether there is any relation between AGT (M235T), ACE (I/D), and AGTR1 (A1166C) genetic polymorphisms and hypertension among Turkish people from Southeast Anatolia.

Method and Results: A total of 210 individuals, consisting of 102 healthy controls and 108 patients with essential hypertension admitted to the Cardiology Department of the Adiyaman University Research and Application Hospital were included the study. DNA isolation was performed from the blood samples via commercial kit. Genotype determination was determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. Statistically significant differences were found between the control and patient groups in terms of genotype distribution and allelic frequencies of ACE I/D polymorphisms. Significant differences were found in the frequencies of ICM, DCM, DCT, DAT between the patient and control groups.

Conclusions: In this study, we found a significant association of ACE I/D polymorphism with HT, and we showed that the I allele can increase the risk of HT in Turkish people from Southeast Anatolia. Although we did not find any association between independent AGT M235T and AGT1R A1166C polymorphisms and HT, we observed that the DCM, DCT, and DAT haplotypes of ACE/AGT1R/AGT polymorphisms reduced the risk of hypertension, while the ICM haplotype increased it.