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Common variants in the Na+-coupled bicarbonate transporter genes and salt sensitivity of blood pressure: the GenSalt study

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 30, pages 543–548 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

The current study comprehensively examined the association between common variants in the Na+-coupled bicarbonate transporter (NCBT) genes and blood pressure (BP) responses to dietary sodium intervention. A 7-day low-sodium followed by a 7-day high-sodium dietary intervention was conducted among 1906 Han participants from rural areas of northern China. Nine BP measurements were obtained at baseline and each intervention using a random-zero sphygmomanometer. A mixed-effect model was used to assess the additive associations of 76 common variants in five NCBT genes, including SLC4A4, SLC4A5, SLC4A7, SLC4A8 and SLC4A10, with salt sensitivity phenotypes. The Bonferroni method was used to adjust for multiple testing. SLC4A4 marker rs4254735 was significantly associated with diastolic BP (DBP) response to low-sodium intervention (P=5.05 × 10−4), with mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) response of −2.91 (−3.21, −2.61) and −0.40 (−1.84, 1.05) mmHg for genotype AA and AG, respectively. In addition, BP responses to high-sodium intervention significantly increased with the number of minor C alleles of SLC4A4 marker rs10022637. Mean systolic BP responses among those with genotypes TT, CT and CC were 4.62 (4.29, 4.99), 5.94 (5.31, 6.58) and 6.00 (3.57, 8.43) mmHg (P=1.14 × 10−4); mean DBP responses were 1.72 (1.41, 2.03), 3.22 (2.52, 3.92) and 3.94 (1.88, 5.99) mmHg (P=2.26 × 10−5) and mean arterial pressure responses were 2.69 (2.40, 2.97), 4.13 (3.57, 4.70) and 4.61 (2.51, 6.71) mmHg (P=2.07 × 10−6), respectively. In brief, the present study indicated that common variants in the SLC4A4 gene might contribute to the variation of BP responses to dietary sodium intake in Han Chinese population.

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Acknowledgements

The Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (GenSalt) is supported by research grants (U01HL072507, R01HL087263 and R01HL090682) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. This study is also funded by a research grant (2012AA02A516) from the High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863 Plan) from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

    L Guo, F Liu, S Chen, X Yang, J Huang & D Gu

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

    J He & Q Zhao

  3. Division of Prevention and Population Science, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    C E Jaquish

  4. Division of Biostatistics, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA

    C C Gu

  5. Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA

    J E Hixson

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  1. L Guo
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Correspondence to D Gu.

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Guo, L., Liu, F., Chen, S. et al. Common variants in the Na+-coupled bicarbonate transporter genes and salt sensitivity of blood pressure: the GenSalt study. J Hum Hypertens 30, 543–548 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2015.113

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