MOLECULAR VARIANTS OF THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM COMPONENTS IN THE SLOVAK POPULATION

Molecular variants of individual components of the renin-angiotensin s ystem (RAS) are reported to constitute the inherited predisposition to some cardiovascular diseases in man, e.g. essential hypertension or m yocardial infarction. The frequency of these variants depends highly o n the race and population. Therefore, we examined the M235T molecular variant of the angiotensinogen gene and the I/D polymorphism of the AC E gene in Slovak healthy population, in patients with diagnosed essent ial hypertension and in patients who had undergone myocardial infarcti on. DNA from 241 subjects was tested for the presence of M235T and I/D molecular variants. The frequency of both these polymorphisms in the Slovak population is similar to other Caucasian populations. In the gr oup of hypertensive patients, the frequency of the M235T molecular var iant was increased compared to controls, predominantly in males (0.45 vs. 0.28), while in the I/D polymorphism the incidence of the D allele was the same for both controls and hypertensives (0.49 vs. 0.50). A s ignificant increase in the D allele frequency compared to the controls occurred in the group of infarcted patients (0.63). The increased fre quency of the M235T allele in hypertensive patients compared to the he althy population confirms that the M235T variants associated with incr eased blood pressure in the Slovak population. In the Slovak populatio n, I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with myocardial infa rction rather than with hypertension.