Association between Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Gene A/C3123 Polymorphism and High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol with Hypertension in Asymptomatic Women

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the association between the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) gene adenine/cytosine (A/C)-3123 polymorphism and cardiometabolic variables in subjects with and without hypertension. METHODS: Cardiometabolic variables, in addition to genotyping by an allele-specific DNA assay, were measured in 161 asymptomatic community-dwelling Japanese women (age range 30–83 years). They were divided into hypertensive (n = 82, age 50–81 years) and nonhypertensive (n = 79, age 30–83 years) subjects. RESULTS: The A-allele carriers (n = 53) showed significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels than the non-A-allele carriers (n = 26) among nonhypertensive subjects (1.45 ± 0.38 vs. 1.66 ± 0.33 mmol/l, p = 0.02). Even when multiple-adjusted analyses were performed, the HDL-C levels continued to differ significantly and independently of other variables, including the body mass index and insulin resistance index, between A-allele and non-A-allele carriers. However, this association was not observed among hypertensive subjects. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that A-allele carriers had significantly lower HDL-C levels than did non-A-allele carries among nonhypertensive women, while this association was not observed among hypertensive women. This indicates that the A/C3124 polymorphism may be a marker associated with HDL metabolism by hypertension. This was a small study, so further research is warranted to confirm the observed association.