title: Genetic variation in the human urea transporter-2 is associated with variation in blood pressure.
abstract: The kidney, by regulating the volume of fluid in the body, plays a key role in regulating blood pressure (BP). The kidney uses primarily sodium and, to a lesser extent, urea to maintain the appropriate volume of fluid. Genetic variation in proteins that determine sodium reabsorption and excretion is known to significantly influence BP. However, the influence of genetic variation in urea transporters on BP has not been examined. We determined therefore whether nucleotide variation in the kidney-specific human urea transporter, HUT2, is associated with variation in BP. After determining the genomic structure of the coding sequence, seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Two of the SNPs result in Val/Ile and Ala/Thr amino acid substitutions at positions 227 and 357 in the HUT2 open reading frame, respectively. Another SNP is silent and four others are in introns or the 3' untranslated region. Over 1000 hypertensive and low-normotensive individuals of Chinese origin were typed for five of these SNPs using a high-throughput genotyping method. The Ile227 and Ala357 alleles were associated with low diastolic BP in men but not women, with odds ratios 2.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-2.7, P < 0.001] and 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-1.8, P < 0.001), respectively. There was a similar trend for systolic BP, and odds ratios for the Ile227 and Ala357 alleles were 1.7 (95% CI 1.2-2.3, P = 0.002) and 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.6, P = 0.007), respectively, in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5120, USA. koustubh.ranade@bms.com
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ranade
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hwu
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pesich
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: Y D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olshen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Risch
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Botstein
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism; D000096982:Urea Transporters
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004247:DNA; D017931:DNA Primers; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D014508:Urea; D000096982:Urea Transporters