Chromosome 2 reciprocal congenic strains to evaluate the effect of the genetic background on blood pressure

The localisation of quantitative trait loci (QTL) is the first step towards gene identification, This is then verified by the construction of reciprocal congenic strains. The hypertensive SHRSP and normotensive WKY strains were used in a speed congenic approach to confirm the existence of a QTL on rat chromosome 2. Systolic baseline and salt loaded blood pressures were measured by radiotelemetry. Transfer of the chromosome 2 blood pressure QTL region from WKY into an SHRSP background significantly reduced blood pressure, with the increased significance at the salt loaded period, compared to the SHRSP. The reciprocal congenic blood pressure showed a significantly increased baseline systolic pressure compared to the WKY with no change in significance at the salt loaded period. Thus we have successfully captured a gene(s) which contribute to blood pressure regulation in both congenic strains. This will facilitate further positional cloning of the causative genes first in this model and then in human essential hypertension.