Case-control study on IL-1RAcP rs16865597 gene polymorphism and susceptibility to essential hypertension in a Chinese Han population

Background: Essential hypertension (EH) is a complex cardiovascular disorder involving multiple genetic and environmental factors. The IL-33/ST2 pathway was originally identified as a key player in type 2 immunity, which is involved in EH development. The current study was established to explore the relationship between EH and genetic variants within the IL-33/ST2 pathway in the Chinese Han population. Methods 1151 EH patients and 1135 controls were enrolled in this study. Sixteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-33 and IL-1RAcP genes were genotyped using the Sequenom MassArray and TaqMan assay. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared between the patients and controls using logistic regression analysis. Results Our results demonstrated that the SNP rs16865597 in IL-1RAcP gene was associated with EH risk, where the number of C alleles of rs16865597 negatively correlated with EH susceptibility in both the additive model ( P  = 0.014, OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.59–0.94) and the recessive model ( P  = 0.011, OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.56–0.93). In addition, rs16865597 was associated with decreased EH risk in males (OR add = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56–0.94, P  = 0.015), nonsmokers (OR add = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.54–0.96, P  = 0.023), nondrinkers (ORadd = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.53–0.93, P  = 0.013), and those with low BMI (OR add = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.51–0.92, P  = 0.013). Conclusion We identified an EH associated genetic polymorphism rs16865597. Our study might provide a clue to identify potential causal factors in the development of EH.