Rapid detection and prevalence of the variants of the angiotensinogen gene in patients with essential hypertension

Objectives . The angiotensinogen (AGT) gene has been implicated as a candidate gene of high blood pressure. However, because the variants of the AGT gene are point mutations, it is difficult to detect them in large scale population studies. The aims of this study were to develop a rapid screening method for the point mutations and, using this method, to determine the possible role of the AGT gene variant in high blood pressure in the Japanese population. Design and subjects . A rapid screening method for the point mutations by means of primer‐specified restriction map modification is described here. Using this method, the distribution of two variants of the AGT gene, M235T and T174M, was determined in 80 patients with essential hypertension (EHT) and 100 normotensive controls (control). Result . The hypertensive group showed a significantly ( P < 0.05) higher frequency for the T174M variant but the same frequency for the M235T variant. Conclusion . These data provide evidence in favour of an association between hypertension and a genetic variant of AGT in human EHT, and a marked ethnic difference in the AGT gene.