The association of hypertension with renin-angiotensin system gene polymorphisms in the Lebanese population

Aim: The study objective was to examine the association of hypertension in the Lebanese population with three renin-angiotensin system gene polymorphisms (RAS): angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensinogen (AGT) and angiotensin-receptor type 1 (AT1R). Methods: A total of 270 subjects (124 hypertensive vs 146 normotensive) were genotyped for ACE insertion (I)/deletion (D), AGT (M235T), and AT(1)R (A1166C) gene polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The studied genes showed no deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No association could be reported with the ACE I/D polymorphism, although the D allele frequency was high (77%) in patients. AGT TT genotype prevalence was found to be lower in hypertensive versus normotensive subjects (p < 0.0001). AT(1)R CC and AC genotypes were significantly more frequent in hypertensive than normotensive subjects (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The first conducted study on the RAS gene polymorphisms in Lebanese hypertensive patients demonstrated a possible association of the AGT T and AT(1)R C alleles with hypertension.