Investigation of eNOS gene intron 4 A/B VNTR and intron 23 polymorphisms in patients with essential hypertension

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a major role in the regulation of vascular tone. Production of NO can be influenced by polymorphisms of the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) gene, which may be associated with the pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EHT). Therefore, eNOS gene intron 4 a/b variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) and intron 23 polymorphisms were investigated in patients with EHT living in a central area of Turkey. Materials and methods: The study was performed in 91 patients (34 M, 57 F) with EHT, aged 38-76 years, and 75 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (35 M, 40 F). eNOS gene polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction method. Results: There was no significant difference between the G-allele frequency of the G10-T polymorphism in intron 23 and intron 4 a/b VNTR polymorphism of the eNOS gene in EHT patients and in the controls. Conclusion: eNOS gene intron 4 a/b VNTR and intron 23 gene polymorphisms were not associated with EHT patients living in a central area of Turkey. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these 2 polymorphisms of the eNOS gene could represent useful genetic markers for indentifying individuals at risk of developing EHT.