title: Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the interleukin-6 gene associated with blood pressure and atherosclerosis in a Japanese general population.
abstract: It is known that increased plasma levels of inflammatory markers, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), are associated with atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to reveal the contribution of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IL-6 gene on the blood pressure regulation and progression of atherosclerosis in a general Japanese population. In order to evaluate the potential implications of genetic variability of the IL-6 gene, we explored eight SNPs by direct sequencing for the entire coding region and the promoter region in the IL-6 gene and genotyped two SNPs, -636G > C in the promoter region and 1691C > G in intron 3, for a total of 2,421 Japanese subjects (1,162 men and 1,259 women). As a consequence, -636 G > C was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in women, and 1691C > G showed a relationship with SBP and carotid IMT in men after adjustment for all confounding factors. Although neither SNP had a significant correlation to the prevalence of hypertension, the haplotype frequency analysis indicated that the number of hypertensive men with a G allele at both -636 and 1691 was significantly greater than the number of nonhypertensive men with this combination. Thus, these two SNPs in the promoter region and intron 3 of the IL-6 gene might play a role in the blood pressure regulation and progression of atherosclerosis in the Japanese.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, National Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mannami
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamide
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takiuchi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kokubo
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katsuya
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyata
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogihara
authors.forename: Hitonobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomoike
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6