A research team led by the National Institutes of Health in the United States has identified over 100 new genomic regions in the human body that may influence blood pressure. They have also pinpointed several risk loci associated with iron metabolism and adrenergic receptor, shedding light on potential targets for blood pressure medications.
A study led by the NIH has found that genetic markers can account for up to a 12% difference in blood pressure between individuals.
Image Source: National Human Genome Research Institute
Published in the journal Nature Genetics on the 30th, this research is one of the largest studies of its kind on blood pressure genomics to date, involving data from over 1 million participants. These new findings explain more of the genetic differences in people's blood pressure. Understanding an individual's risk of hypertension could lead to effective personalized treatment plans.
In the United States, nearly half of adults have high blood pressure. Prolonged high blood pressure can damage the heart and blood vessels throughout the body, increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other conditions. Hypertension often has a familial genetic predisposition, meaning that in addition to environmental factors like high-salt diets, lack of exercise, smoking, and stress, genetic factors can contribute to high blood pressure.
To understand the genetic mechanisms of blood pressure, researchers combined data from four large-scale datasets on blood pressure and hypertension genome-wide association studies. Through their analysis, they identified over 2,000 genetic loci related to blood pressure, covering 113 new regions.
Several of these newly identified genetic loci are located within genes involved in iron metabolism, confirming previous reports that high levels of iron accumulation in the body can lead to cardiovascular disease.
Researchers also confirmed an association between a variant of the ADRA1A gene and blood pressure. ADRA1A encodes a cell receptor called the alpha-1 adrenergic receptor, which is currently a target for antihypertensive drugs. This suggests that other genetic variants discovered in the study may also serve as targets for medications that can alter blood pressure.
Through these analyses, researchers were able to calculate a polygenic risk score that combines the effects of all genetic variants to predict the risk of hypertension. These risk scores consider which genetic variants increase the risk of high blood pressure and reveal the clinical significance of different blood pressure levels.
