Hypertension, Serum Angiotensinogen, and Molecular Variants of the Angiotensinogen Gene Among Nigerians

Background We evaluated the association among the M235T and T174M variants of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, plasma AGT, and hypertension status in a sample of Nigerians. Methods and Results Participants were selected from the extremes of the blood pressure distribution obtained from the population survey of 2509 men and women aged 25 to 74 years. Cases (hypertensive subjects) were individuals who had high blood pressure or were taking antihypertensive medication, and control subjects were individuals with low blood pressure who had never taken antihypertensive medication. We found a significant association between the M235T variant and plasma AGT level. Hypertensive subjects had higher plasma AGT levels compared with control subjects. The allele frequencies of the two variants were similar in the hypertensive patients and the control subjects. Conclusions The consistent relationships observed between the M235T variant and the protein product and between plasma level of the protein and hypertension status in different ethnic groups provide some evidence for a biochemical mechanism linking DNA variation in the renin-angiotensin system with the hypertension phenotype.