CAMK4 gene variation is associated with hypertension in a Uygur population.

Considering that calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase 4 (CAMK4) plays a pivotal role in blood pressure regulation, we investigated the association between a CAMK4 polymorphism (rs10491334) and hypertension in the Han, Kazak, and Uygur ethnic groups. We studied 1224 patients with hypertension and 967 normotensive controls classified into three ethnic groups (Han, Kazak, and Uygur). The rs10491334 polymorphism was genotyped using a TaqMan® 5'-nuclease assay. In the Uygur group, the T-allele frequency in patients with hypertension was twice that of the controls (12.5 vs 6.38%), and T-allele carriers had a significantly increased risk of hypertension compared with non-carriers (odds ratio = 2.200; 95% confidence interval = 1.473-3.285, P < 0.001). However, no significant correlation was found in the Han and Kazak groups. The T-allele of rs10491334 in CAMK4 was associated with hypertension in the Uygur group.

Relationship between EPHX2 gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension in Uygur, Kazakh, and Han.

We investigated the association between rs751141 polymorphisms in the EPHX2 gene and essential hypertension in Uygur, Kazakh, and Han subjects in Xinjiang, China. A total of 302 essential hypertensive patients in Uygur, 267 in Kazakh, and 368 in Han, as well as 323 normotensive controls in Uygur, 284 in Kazakh, and 348 in Han were enrolled in this study. The TaqMan assay was used to detect the rs751141 G/A gene polymorphism in EPHX2. The rs751141 G/A genotype frequencies for the GA+AA genotypes were 40.2% in essential hypertensive subjects and 52.0% in control subjects in the Han population. The frequencies were significantly different between the 2 Han groups (P < 0.01). The rs751141G/A gene polymorphism showed no significant difference between essential hypertensive patients and normotensive controls in Kazakh and Uygur (all P > 0.05). Essential hypertension in Xinjiang was associated with the rs751141 G/A allele gene polymorphism in EPHX2 in Han subjects but not in Kazakh and Uygur subjects. The rs751141 allele gene polymorphism may be an independent protective factor against essential hypertension in the Han population.

IFN-gamma is associated with risk of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China.

Before the start of the schistosomiasis transmission season, 129 villagers resident on a Schistosoma japonicum-endemic island in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, 64 of whom were stool-positive for S. japonicum eggs by the Kato method and 65 negative, were treated with praziquantel. Forty-five days later the 93 subjects who presented for follow-up were all stool-negative. Blood samples were collected from all 93 individuals. S. japonicum soluble worm antigen (SWAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) stimulated IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma production in whole-blood cultures were measured by ELISA. All the subjects were interviewed nine times during the subsequent transmission season to estimate the intensity of their contact with potentially infective snail habitats, and the subjects were all re-screened for S. japonicum by the Kato method at the end of the transmission season. Fourteen subjects were found to be infected at that time. There was some indication that the risk of infection might be associated with gender (with females being at higher risk) and with the intensity of water contact, and there was evidence that levels of SEA-induced IFN-gamma production were associated with reduced risk of infection.