Combined effect of acid-sensing ion channel 3 and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 gene polymorphisms on blood pressure variations in Taiwanese.

OBJECTIVES

Both acid-sensing ion channel acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) have been proposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension. Common colocalization of ASIC3 and TRPV1 channels in the same sensory neuron has been reported. We aimed to study the combined and gene polymorphisms in the risk of hypertension.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To test the statistical association between genetic polymorphisms of the and genes and blood pressure (BP) variations in Taiwanese, 551 unrelated individuals (286 men and 265 women) having routine health examinations were recruited. The participants had no history of cardiovascular disease or use of medication for hypertension.

RESULTS

Six and four gene polymorphisms were genotyped, and only the rs2288646 polymorphism was associated with variations in BP in the participants. In subgroup analysis, we found participants carrying the combined rs2288646 or and rs8065080 genotypes (combined genotypes) had significantly higher systolic, mean and diastolic BP compared with the other subgroups ( = 0.009, 0.003, and 0.006, respectively, after Bonferroni correction). Interaction analysis also revealed significant gene-gene interaction in the systolic, mean, and diastolic BP in the and genotypes (interaction = 0.006, 0.002, and 0.002, respectively). A trend of increasing frequencies of the combined genotype was observed in normotensive, prehypertensive, and hypertensive subgroups ( for trend = 0.001), as well as in those with higher systolic and diastolic BPs ( for trend = 9.13 × 10 and for trend = 5.5 × 10, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Our data show a combined effect of and gene polymorphisms in BP variations in Taiwanese. These results suggest that the interaction between and is involved in BP regulation.