Haplotypes of the adrenergic system predict the blood pressure response to beta-blockers in women with essential hypertension.

Aims: To analyze the association of haplotypes of the adrenergic system with essential hypertension and with the blood pressure response to beta-blockers.

Materials & Methods: In 1112 never-treated essential hypertension patients and 203 normotensive controls, tightly linked SNPs of beta-adrenergic receptors (ADRB1 - Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly; ADRB2 - Cys19Arg, Gly16Arg and Gln27Glu) and the G-protein beta3-subunit (GNB3 - A3882C, G5249A and C825T) were genotyped. Association of haplotypes with essential hypertension and with the blood pressure response to atenolol 50 mg twice daily in a subgroup of essential hypertension patients (n = 340) was evaluated (Haploview 3.2).

Results: No SNPs or haplotypes were associated with essential hypertension. In females only, GNB3 SNPs and haplotypes were associated with the blood pressure response (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Our study confirmed the sex-specific association of GNB3 with the blood pressure response to atenolol with no substantial advantage of the analysis of haplotypes over SNPs.