Association between angiotensin II type 2 receptor gene A/C3123 polymorphism and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with hypertension in asymptomatic women

The present study investigated the association between the angiotensin II type 2 receptor [AT2R] gene adenine/cytosine [A/C]-3123 polymorphism and cardiometabolic variables in subjects with and without hypertension. Cardiometabolic variables, in addition to genotyping by an allele-specific DNA assay, were measured in 161 asymptomatic community-dwelling Japanese women [age range 30-83 years]. They were divided into hypertensive [n = 82, age 50-81 years] and nonhypertensive [n = 79, age 30-83 years] subjects. The A-allele carriers [n = 53] showed significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] levels than the non-A-allele carriers [n = 26] among nonhypertensive subjects [1.45 +/- 0.38 vs. 1.66 +/- 0.33 mmol/l, p = 0.02]. Even when multiple-adjusted analyses were performed, the HDL-C levels continued to differ significantly and independently of other variables, including the body mass index and insulin resistance index, between A-allele and non-A-allele carriers. However, this association was not observed among hypertensive subjects. The present study demonstrated that A-allele carriers had significantly lower HDL-C levels than did non-A-allele carries among nonhypertensive women, while this association was not observed among hypertensive women. This indicates that the A/C3124 polymorphism may be a marker associated with HDL metabolism by hypertension. This was a small study, so further research is warranted to confirm the observed association

Association of Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Gene A1818T Polymorphism with Progression of Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy in Korean Patients

We determined the relationship between the progression of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and the A1818T polymorphism in intron 2 of Angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) gene, which might play protective roles in the pathogenesis of IgAN. Patients with biopsy-proven IgAN were recruited from the registry of the Progressive REnal disease and Medical Informatics and gEnomics Research (PREMIER) which was sponsored by the Korean Society of Nephrology. A1818T polymorphism of AT2R gene was analyzed with PCR-RFLP method and the association with the progression of IgAN, which was defined as over 50% increase in baseline serum creatinine level, was analyzed with survival analysis. Among the 480 patients followed for more than 10 months, the group without T allele had significantly higher rates of progression of IgAN than the group with T allele (11.4% vs. 3.9%, p=0.024), although there were no significant differences in the baseline variables such as initial serum creatinine level, the degree of proteinuria, and blood pressure. In the Cox's proportional hazard model, the hazard ratio of disease progression in the patients with T allele was 0.221 (95% confidence interval for Exp(B): 0.052-0.940, p=0.041) compared to that of without T allele. In conclusion, A1818T polymorphism of AT2R gene was associated with the progression of IgAN.