Association of a Chromosome Locus 9p21.3 CDKN2B-AS1 Variant rs4977574 with Hypertension: The TAMRISK Study

Aims: Chromosome locus 9p21.3 CDKN2B antisense RNA 1 (CDKN2B-AS1) has been found to contain multiple genetic markers for coronary artery disease (CAD) by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Of these, the association of variants rs4977574, rs10757274, and rs2383206 with hypertension was studied in the Tampere adult population cardiovascular risk study (TAMRISK). Materials and Methods: A Finnish cohort of 336 subjects diagnosed with hypertension and 444 controls was analyzed. Samples were genotyped for the CDKN2B-AS1 polymorphisms using Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) or TaqMan techniques. Results: Individuals with the minor genotype GG of rs4977574 had less hypertension compared to the other genotypes (p=0.048, OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.01-2.48). The variants rs2383206 and rs10757274 were not associated with hypertension. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the GG genotype of the CDKN2B-AS1 gene variant rs4977574, which has been previously associated with an increased CAD risk, is also associated with a decreased susceptibility to the development of hypertension.