Endothelial NOS G894T and MMP-3 5A/6A gene polymorphisms and hypertension in Serbian population

The incidence of hypertension is increasing and it is more common in man than in women. Up to date, MMP-3 5A/6A polymorphism has been associated with artery stiffening and elevated blood pressure, whereas results considering association of endothelial NOS (eNOS) G894T polymorphism with hypertension are controversial. The aim of our study was to analyze the possible association of eNOS G894T and MMP-3 5A/6A gene polymorphisms with hypertension in Serbian population. Study sample consisted of 172 hypertensive and 200 normotensive subjects divided by gender. Both female and male group was truncated according to age. All subjects were genotyped for MMP-3 5A/6A and eNOS G894T polymorphism. There was a significantly higher (P<0.05) prevalence of 5A/5A genotype in hypertensive females compared to normotensive ones (19.30% vs. 10.84%) even more pronounced in group >= 50 years, according to its recessive effect. In young males (<40 years), we found 3.7-fold increased risk for hypertension associated with allele 6A (P<0.01), and 8.1-fold with genotype 6A/6A (P=0.01) according to recessive model. We found no association of eNOS G894T polymorphism with hypertension. These results indicate that there were gender-and age-specific differences in association of MMP-3 5A/6A polymorphism with hyperin Serbian population.