title: Interactions of genetic variants with physical activity are associated with blood pressure in Chinese: the GenSalt study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Blood pressure (BP) homeostasis involves complex interactions among genetic and nongenetic factors, providing major challenges to dissection of the genetic components that influence BP and hypertension. In this study, we examine the effects of interaction of genetic variants with physical activity on BP in a relatively genetically homogenous cohort of rural Chinese villagers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Generalized estimating equations analysis was used to test for associations of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with variants in 24 genes in BP pathways (196 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) among 3,142 Chinese participants divided according to physical activity (active vs. inactive groups).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the physically active group, two SNPs in NR3C2 were significantly associated with lower SBP, and a SNP in SCNN1B was significantly associated with lower SBP and DBP. In the physically inactive group, a SNP in APLNR was associated with lower SBP, a SNP in GNB3 (guanine nucleotide binding protein, β polypeptide 3) was associated with higher SBP and DBP, and a SNP in BDKRB2 (bradykinin receptor B2) was associated with lower DBP. Cumulative effects in carriers of minor alleles of these SNPs showed reductions of SBP and DBP as large as 8 and 5 mm Hg, respectively, in the active individuals compared to inactive individuals carrying the same number of minor alleles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that physical activity modifies the effects of genetic variants on BP. However, our results also show that active individuals with specific genotypes always have lower BP than inactive individuals with the same genotypes, demonstrating the overall beneficial effects of physical activity on BP.
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: May E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Montasser
authors.forename: Donfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lawrence C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Shimmin
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Tanika N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Cashell E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Jaquish
authors.forename: Treva
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Dabeeru C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jichun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: De-Pei
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Whelton
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hixson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000075244:Apelin Receptors; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D043782:Receptor, Bradykinin B2 / Q000235:genetics; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics; D018161:Receptors, Mineralocorticoid / Q000235:genetics*; D012424:Rural Population
chemical_list: C104575:APLNR protein, human; D000075244:Apelin Receptors; D053503:Epithelial Sodium Channels; C454420:G-protein beta3 subunit; C561839:NR3C2 protein, human; D043782:Receptor, Bradykinin B2; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D018161:Receptors, Mineralocorticoid; C507048:SCNN1B protein, human; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins