Association between Arg16Gly Mutation in the ${\beta}_2$-Adrenergic Receptor Gene and Hypertension in the Korean Population

$\beta$$_2$-Adrenergic receptors($\beta$$_2$-AR) contribute to cardiovascular regulation by influencing several functions and a several studies suggest that a decreased function of the $\beta$$_2$-AR may be involved in essential hypertension. We investigated the Arg16Gly mutation of $\beta$$_2$-AR gene, which show enhanced agonist-promoted downregulation of the receptor and yielded different results in terms of association with essential hypertension. We studied the relationship between genetic variation in the $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor gene and hypertension in a Korean population using Nde I restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. There were significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies between essential hypertensive and normotensive group (Odds ratio(CI) = 1.71 (1.09-2.70)). Therefore, our result suggests that the Nde I RELP of the $\beta$$_2$-adrenergic receptor gene may be useful as a genetic marker in hypertension diagnostics in Korean population.