Association between Prostaglandin-endoperoxide Synthase 2 (PTGS2) Polymorphisms and Blood Pressure in Korean Population

ABSTRACT

Blood pressure refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and chronical elevation of blood pressure is known as hypertension. Although hypertension is affected by genetic and environmental factors, the genetic background of hypertension is not fully understood. One of the candidate genetic factors, Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), is a membrane-bound enzyme, catalyzing the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin, and recently SNPs of PTGS2 gene was associated with hypertension in Japanese population. Therefore the association of PTGS2 polymorphisms was investigated with blood pressure in healthy Korean subjects, 470 unrelated individuals randomly selected from Ansung and Ansan cohorts. The 25 SNPs of PTGS2 gene were identified by the sequencing analysis of 24 Korean samples. Among identified polymorphisms, three SNPs (rs689466, -1329A>G; rs5275, +6365T>C; rs4648308, +8806G> A) were selected for further association analysis, and rs689466 located in promoter region was associated with blood pressure as well as triglyceride level in the blood. By in silico analysis, rs689466 locates in v-Myb transcription factor binding site, and the v-Myb site disappears when the SNP is changed from A to G nucleotide. Individuals with A/G and G/G genotype in rs689466 have higher blood pressure than those with A/A genotype, and the regression p-value is 0.008 for systolic and 0.004 for diastolic blood pressure. In summary, the PTGS2 polymorphism (rs689466) is associated with blood pressure in Asian populations based on this and Japanese studies, shedding light on it as a genetic risk marker of hypertension.