Association Study Between the ANF Gene and Hypertension in a Gulf Arab Population

We have studied an insertion/deletion (I/D) dimorphism located in the second intron of the human atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) gene among 232 United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals (112 normotensives and 120 hypertensives) from the Abu Dhabi Emirate, with a view to evaluating the value of this marker in relation to hypertension. Our findings show that genotype frequencies of this I/D marker occur in Hardy-Weinberg proportions (respective genotype frequencies in the overall sample population are: II, 51%; ID, 42%; DD, 7%). No association, however, was evidenced between this dimorphic site and clinical diagnosis of essential hypertension. This suggests that: 1) this I/D dimorphism is not a useful marker to study the relationship between the ANF gene and hypertension in the UAE; and 2) variations of the ANF gene that may be in linkage disequilibrium with this marker do not play a major role in the determination of hypertension in this Arab population.