Heritability of blood pressure traits and the genetic contribution to blood pressure variance explained by four blood-pressure-related genes.
OBJECTIVE
To study the heritability of four blood pressure traits and the proportion of variance explained by four blood-pressure-related genes.


METHODS
All participants are members of an extended pedigree from a Dutch genetically isolated population. Heritability and genetic correlations of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure were assessed using a variance components approach (SOLAR). Polymorphisms of the alpha-adducin (ADD1), angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and G protein beta3 (GNB3) genes were typed.


RESULTS
Heritability estimates were significant for all four blood pressure traits, ranging between 0.24 and 0.37. Genetic correlations between systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure were high (0.93-0.98), and those between pulse pressure and diastolic blood pressure were low (0.05). The ADD1 polymorphism explained 0.3% of the variance of pulse pressure (P = 0.07), and the polymorphism of GNB3 explained 0.4% of the variance of systolic blood pressure (P = 0.02), 0.2% of mean arterial pressure (P = 0.05) and 0.3% of pulse pressure (P = 0.06).


CONCLUSIONS
Genetic factors contribute to a substantial proportion of blood pressure variance. In this study, the effect of polymorphisms of ADD1, AGT, AT1R and GNB3 explained a very small proportion of the heritability of blood pressure traits. As new genes associated with blood pressure are localized in the future, their effect on blood pressure variance should be calculated.
van Rijn
Marie Josee E
MJ
Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Schut
Anna F C
AF
Aulchenko
Yurii S
YS
Deinum
Jaap
J
Sayed-Tabatabaei
Fakhredin A
FA
Yazdanpanah
Mojgan
M
Isaacs
Aaron
A
Axenovich
Tatiana I
TI
Zorkoltseva
Irina V
IV
Zillikens
M Carola
MC
Pols
Huib A P
HA
Witteman
Jacqueline C M
JC
Oostra
Ben A
BA
van Duijn
Cornelia M
CM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000808:Angiotensinogen / Q000235:genetics; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics*; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020412:Multifactorial Inheritance / Q000235:genetics*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000208:ethnology; D010375:Pedigree; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D044140:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics
C454420:G-protein beta3 subunit; D044140:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1; D000808:Angiotensinogen; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins