alpha-adducin polymorphism in hypertensives of South African ancestry

The alpha-adducin gene contributes significantly to hypertension in MHS rat s (rats of the Milan hypertensive strain) and in some white and Japanese po pulations, causing a low renin, sodium, and diuretic-sensitive hypertension . No data are available from populations of African ancestry who have a hig h prevalence of low renin, sodium, and diuretic-sensitive hypertension. We studied the relationship between the 460-Trp variant of alpha-adducin gene with hypertension using a case-control study design in black South Africans . Surprisingly we found that the overall frequency of the 460-Trp allele wa s low (approximate to 6%), but in spite of such relatively low frequency, t he 460-Trp allele was 2.5-fold more frequent in hypertensives than normoten sives (P = .028), with an odds ratio for hypertension associated to the sta te of carrier of at least one 460-Trp allele of 2.68. The finding of such l ow frequency of the 460-Trp allele in individuals of African ancestry point s to the substantial ethnic variability of the genes that have been found t o be associated with hypertension. On the other hand, it suggests an associ ation of the 460-Trp allele with hypertension also in subjects of African o rigin. Am J Hypertens 2000;13:719-723 (C) 2000 American Journal of Hyperten sion, Ltd.