Polymorphisms of renin-angiotensin genes among Nigerians, Jamaicans, and African Americans

ABSTRACT

Within the context of an international collaborative study of the evolution of hypertension in the black disapora, we determined the allelic distribution of hypertension candidate genes for the renin-angiotensin system in three populations of African origin. The insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and the M235T and T174M variants of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene were examined in individuals from Nigeria, Jamaica, and the United States. Large differences in the prevalence of hypertension were recorded in door-to-door surveys, ranging from 16 percent in Nigeria to 33 percent in the United States. The frequency of the D allele was similar in all groups (54 percent, 59 percent and 63 percent in Nigeria, Jamaica, and the United States, respectively). The 235T allele of the AGT gene was found in 81 percent of US and Jamaican blacks and 91 percent of Nigerians very little variation was seen for the T174M marker. Despite larger differences in hypertension rates, genetic variation at the index loci among these groups was modest. Overall, the frequency of the ACE D allele was only slightly higher than that reported for European and Japanese populations, whereas the AGT 235T allele was twice as common. Compared with blacks in the western hemisphere. Nigerians had a higher frequency of the 235T allele, which is consistent with 25 percent European admixture in Jamaica and the United States. The results indicate the potential for etiolgic heterogeneity in genetic factors related to hypertension across the ethnic groups while suggested that environmental exposures most likely explain the gradient in risk in the comparison among black populations.(AU)