Molecular Variants of the Angiotensinogen Gene and Hypertension in a Japanese Population.

Association between hypertension and molecular variants of angiotensinogen (AGT) has been confirmed in Caucasian populations. The present study was conducted in a Japanese population. Eighty-two hypertensive and eighty-three normotensive subjects were analyzed. The region of interest in the AGT gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction method, the molecular variant of T174M was detected with the use of a restriction enzyme Nco I, and the molecular variant of M235T was detected with the use of allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. The allele frequency of the M174 in the hypertensive group (HT) was 0.141, while that in the normotensive group was 0.079 (0.05<p<0.1). The allele frequency of the T235 in HT was 0.859, while that in NT was 0.771 (p<0.05). A higher frequency of the T235 allele was observed in the hypertensive subjects with ECG-LVH than in those without ECG-LVH (p<0.05). The molecular variant of the angiotensinogen gene T235 seem to be a predisposing factor for hypertension in the Japanese population. (Hypertens Res 1994; 17: 117-121)