Objective: To determine whether the variant of adducin alpha subunit (alpha-adducin) is in association with essential hypertension in the Hans of Chinese population.
Methods: One hundred and eighty-three patients with essential hypertension and 129 normotensive subjects were included in this study. Genomic DNA was isolated from 3 ml of whole blood. Polymerase chain reaction, single-strand conformational polymorphism and DNA sequencing analysis techniques were used to detect the variant in the exon 10 of alpha-adducin gene. The clinical data of height, weight and blood pressure were also measured in all subjects.
Results: A G-->T substitution at nucleotide 614 in exon 10 of alpha-adducin gene which resulted in the Gly460Trp variant was found in the Hans. The distribution of Gly/Gly, Gly/Trp and Trp/Trp genotypes was coincident with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and there were no statistical differences in the three genotypes and Trp allele frequencies between hypertensive and normotensive subjects (P>0.05). The variant of alpha-adducin genotypes was not associated with any significant differences in age, body mass index and blood pressure.
Conclusion: A G-->T substitution at nucleotide 614 in exon 10 of alpha-adducin gene is found, but there is lack of the association between the variant of alpha-adducin gene and essential hypertension in the Hans of Chinese population.