Sex, genes and blood pressure

Ellis JA, Wong ZY, Stebbing M, Harrap SB (2001) Sex, genes and blood pressure. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 28:1053-1055

1. Throughout most of life, males have higher average blood pressures than females. This sexual dichotomy may be related to genetic factors including the X and Y sex chromosomes and genes that control sex steroids. Resultant physiological differences between men and women may also be relevant to the quantitative variation of blood pressure within the sexes. 2. The present overview collates our published and novel sex-related genetic data in relation to blood pressure from the Victorian Family Heart Study. These include a multipoint quantitative linkage analysis of the X chromosome and genetic association studies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the Y chromosome and genes encoding the androgen receptor (AR), oestrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), 5alpha-reductase types I and II (SRD5A1 and SRD5A2) and aromatase (CYP19). 3. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was linked (Z=3.3, genome-wide P < 0.05)="" to="" a="" region="" of="" the="" x="" chromosome="" that="" encompassed="" the="" ar="" gene="" and="" the="" y="" chromosome="" was="" associated="" with="" diastolic="" blood="" pressure="" (dbp;="" p="0.03)." in="" new="" analyses,="" we="" observed="" a="" possible="" association="" between="" a="" snp="" in="" ar="" and="" dbp="" in="" 369="" males="" (84.5="" vs="" 82.1="" mmhg="" for="" genotype="" a="" vs="" genotype="" b,="" respectively;="" p="0.06)" and="" a="" significant="" association="" between="" haplotypes="" of="" the="" y="" chromosome="" and="" ar="" snp="" in="" males="" (p="0.01)" with="" a="" difference="" of="" nearly="" 6="" mmhg="" dbp="" between="" extreme="" groups.="" associations="" were="" also="" observed="" for="" polymorphisms="" of="" srd5a1="" and="" eralpha="" with="" dbp="" and="" sbp="" in="" males,="" respectively.="" 4.="" the="" findings="" indicate="" that="" genes="" related="" to="" sexual="" phenotypes="" may="" be="" relevant="" to="" the="" normal="" variation="" in="" blood="" pressure,="" even="" within="" the="" sexes.="" further="" genetic="" and="" physiological="" analyses="" will="" be="" required="" to="" confirm="" these="" observations="" and="" to="" determine="" the="" mechanisms="" of="" action="" and="" the="" nature="" of="" any="">