[Restriction fragment length polymorphism of human renin gene in essential hypertension].

Essential hypertension is a heterogenous multifactorial disease resulting from an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Nature of genes responsible for the blood pressure regulation is not completely understood. Data from molecular biology studies with animals indicate that renin gene is involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Renin gene is one of the major candidate genes contributing to the pathogenesis of essential hypertension in humans. The aim of this study was the assessment of the association of RFLPs of human renin gene with essential hypertension in Polish population and search for the genetic marker of susceptibility to the disease. MspI, HindIII and EcoT141 RFLP in human renin gene locus were studied and polymorphic allele and genotype frequencies in the population of 74 hypertensive and 60 normotensive subjects were compared. MspI and HindIII RFLP analysis has not shown any statistically significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies between hypertensives and normotensives. These RFLPs do not seem to be in association with essential hypertension in studied population. EcoT141 RFLP analysis has not shown statistically significant differences in polymorphic alleles frequencies between examined groups. However, the observed difference between genotype E2O frequencies in hypertensives (0.31) and normotensives (0.12) was statistically significant (p < 0.045). A clinical importance of this finding is not known but genotype E2O seems to be a potential marker of susceptibility to essential hypertension. Further investigations in larger group of patients are required.