Allele frequencies of alpha2C10- and beta2-adrenergic receptor gene.

Population-specific gene frequencies are essential to the study of candidate genes for hypertension (HTN). Genes encoding the adrenergic receptors (ADRs) are candidate HTN genes. Allele frequencies at these loci have been reported in Caucasian and Asian populations, but not in blacks. In order to establish gene frequencies in blacks and to determine if there are black/white differences in gene frequency at ADR loci, we genotyped 175 unrelated subjects [49% with HTN, 55% African-American (AA)] at the alpha2C10- and beta2- ADR loci using RFLP. Digestion with Dra-I yielded 6.7 kB and 6.3 kB fragments of alpha2C10- ADR gene. Digestion with Ban I yielded 3.7 kB and 3.4 kB fragments of beta2- ADR gene. Results by race are shown in table, numbers represent proportions: These data are the first to establish gene frequencies at alpha2C10- and beta2- ADR loci in AA. This information is essential for the investigation of these candidate genes in HTN in AA