Title:The Polymorphism at the microRNA-155 Binding Site in the AGTR1 Gene is not Significantly Associated with Rheumatic Heart Disease in Saudi Arabia Population
Volume: 9
Issue: 4
Author(s): S. Justin Carlus, Fiona Hannah Carlus, Mazen Khalid Al-Harbi, Abdulhadi H. Al-Mazroea, Khalid M. Al-Harbi and Atiyeh M. Abdallah*
Affiliation:
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha,Qatar
Keywords:
AGTR1, polymorphism, rheumatic heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract:
Background: Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) remains a major cause of cardiovascular
diseases and the most devastating effects are shown on children and young adults. RHD is caused
due to the interaction between microbial, environmental, immunologic, and genetic factors. The Renin-
Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS) has been strongly implicated as the susceptibility pathway
in the pathogenesis of the cardiovascular disease.
Objective: The present study investigated the modulating effect of Angiotensin II type 1 receptor
(AGTR1) 1166A>C polymorphism on the RHD and its clinical features in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: AGTR1 1166A>C polymorphism was genotyped in 96 echocardiographically confirmed
RHD patients and 142 ethnically matched controls by the TaqMan allelic discrimination method.
Results: Genotype distribution of the AGTR1 1166A>C polymorphism was not significantly different
between RHD and control groups. Furthermore, AGTR1 1166A>C genotypes are not associated
with the clinical features of RHD. These data support that there was no evidence for an association
between AGTR1 1166A>C polymorphism and RHD in Saudi Arabia.
Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated the possible association
between AGTR1 1166A>C polymorphism and susceptibility to RHD and its clinical features.
Even though the AGTR1 gene, 1166A>C (rs5186), was reported to be associated with hypertension,
left ventricular hypertrophy and coronary heart disease. The present study did not find any
association between AGTR1 1166A>C polymorphism and RHD in Saudi Arabia. Further studies are
needed to confirm our findings.
