Objective: To investigate the association of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of beta 2-adrenoceptor (beta 2-AR) gene with hypertension in elderly patients.
Methods: The study samples were collected from unrelated Chinese Han population of Dabie Mountain in Anhui province. Eighty-six elderly patients with hypertension and 43 controls were selected. Genotypes of +1053 and +1239 SNPs were typed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.
Results: The frequencies of the two SNPs complied well with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in normal group. The distribution of genotypes AA, GA,GG of the SNP at locus +1239 in moderate and severe hypertension group was significantly different from that in normal group (chi square=8.67, P<0.05). There were evident differences in the frequencies of alleles of the two groups (chi square=4.02, P<0.05). No significant difference was observed in the distribution of genotypes of the SNP at locus +1053 between the two groups.
Conclusion: These data indicate that the SNP at locus +1239 of beta 2-AR gene is associated with hypertension in elderly patients.