Atrial natriuretic peptide gene promoter polymorphism is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertension

Recent studies suggest that the ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide)/NPRA (type A natriuretic peptide receptor) system modulates ventricular remodelling and cardiac hypertrophy in hypertension in Western populations. In the present study, we tested for any association between two SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the ANP gene (one in the promoter and one exonic) with cardiac hypertrophy. We tested the hypothesis in 2118 hypertensive patients, including 945 with LVH [LV (left ventricular) hypertrophy] and 1173 without LVH, as well as 816 healthy control subjects. All subjects were genotyped for the −A2843G and A188G polymorphisms. We found that the GG genotype at position −2843 conferred a 2.2-fold risk for LVH compared with the AA or AG genotypes, including septal wall thickness (11.8±1.4 mm for GG compared with 10.9±1.4 and 10.7±1.3 mm for AA and AG respectively; P P 2.7 for GG compared with 57.9±8.6 and 57.8±8.4 g/m 2.7 for AA and AG respectively; P P P P >0.05). No significant association between the A188G genotype and echocardiographic variables was found in either hypertensive patients or controls ( P >0.05). In conclusion, our findings indicate that the −A2843G polymorphism in the ANP gene promoter might be a genetic risk factor for the development of LVH in patients with hypertension.