A large international study involving 150 scientists from 93 research centers in the US and Europe has found common variants in 8 regions of DNA that are linked to blood pressure levels in humans.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and heart failure and can run in families. There are also some rare genetic disorders that raise blood pressure.
But the problem with pinning down the genetics of high blood pressure is that each factor has a small effect, so a very large number of participants is needed, and more than one factor at a time needs to be looked at, to get a strong picture of how genes influence blood pressure.
This is essentially what this very large consortium of research centers did. By collaborating and sharing their work, they were able to assemble a large collection of data and examine clusters of gene variants and how they linked to blood pressure measurements taken from participants. The researchers analyzed genetic data from 130,000 people and found powerful statistical data that showed that 8 genetic regions of DNA are linked to blood pressure.
One of the DNA regions contains genes for proteins that relax blood vessels and control how the kidneys get rid of sodium. It was previously found that variations in these proteins affect blood pressure. Another region that had been previously found to be linked to a rare genetic condition that causes high blood pressure. But the other 6 regions had not been linked with blood pressure before.
The study was a major advance because it found new genetic pathways that increase our understanding of what causes high blood pressure and raises the possibility that these DNA regions could be targets for drugs that might treat or even prevent the condition.
Sources
Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149785.php
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