A common polymorphism of uncoupling protein 2 gene is associated with hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
The genes responsible for obesity are also candidate genes for obesity-related conditions, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes. A functional polymorphism in the uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) promoter has been reported to be associated with obesity in Caucasians. To clarify the contribution of this polymorphism to obesity and related conditions, we studied the association of the -866 G/A polymorphism of the UCP2 gene with obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
A total of 632 unrelated Japanese subjects were studied: 342 type 2 diabetic patients (among them, 158 patients complicated with hypertension), 156 hypertensive patients without diabetes mellitus and 134 control subjects. The -866 G/A polymorphism of UCP2 was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).


RESULTS
The frequency of the minor A allele was significantly higher in Japanese than in Caucasians (48.9 versus 37.2%, P=0.01). In contrast to the significant association with obesity in Caucasians, the polymorphism was not associated with obesity in Japanese. The polymorphism, however, was significantly associated with hypertension in Japanese (frequency of A allele: 51.8% in hypertensives versus 46.6% in normotensives, P<0.05). No significant difference was observed in body mass index (BMI), fasting insulin level or HOMA-R between patients with different genotypes.


CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that the polymorphism of the UCP2 gene is associated with hypertension, and suggest the possibility of UCP2 as a target molecule for studies on the etiology and treatment of hypertension.
Ji
Quihe
Q
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Ikegami
Hiroshi
H
Fujisawa
Tomomi
T
Kawabata
Yumiko
Y
Ono
Masaya
M
Nishino
Masanori
M
Ohishi
Mitsuru
M
Katsuya
Tomohiro
T
Rakugi
Hiromi
H
Ogihara
Toshio
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000235:genetics; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D006946:Hyperinsulinism / Q000235:genetics; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D007473:Ion Channels; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009765:Obesity; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013599:Systole / Q000235:genetics; D000071246:Uncoupling Protein 2
D015415:Biomarkers; D007328:Insulin; D007473:Ion Channels; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; C000604389:UCP2 protein, human; D000071246:Uncoupling Protein 2