ABSTRACT
Objective To identify the genetic variants of WNK4(with no K=lysine kinase)gene in Kazak population in Xinjiang province,to determine whether the WNK4 gene intron 10 polymorphism iS associated with essential hypertension(EH)and to investigate the distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of WNK4 gene. Methods One hundred and ninety-one patients with EH and 173 normal blood pressure controls were included in the study to assess the contribution of polymorphism of WNK4.Direct DNA sequencing was performed to identify the single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)in 16 SUbjects with EH and 16 subjects of normotension(NT).Then the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP)method was used for the detection of WNK4 genotype. Results One SNP located in the 10 intron of WNK4 (1156666 base of chromosome 17)was found in the Kazak population.The genotypes of the variants were found to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.GG,AG,AA genotypes were 88.0%,11.0 oA,1.0%in the EH group and 91.9%,8.1%,0%in the NT group,respectively.The frequencies of genotype and allele in EH group were not significantly different from NT group in Kazak population.Conclusions It suggests that the intron 10 polymorphism of WNK4 gene might be not associated with hypertension in Kazak population.