G protein beta 3 polymorphism and hemodynamic and body composition phenotypes in the HERITAGE Family Study

A C825T polymorphism of the G protein beta3 (GNB3) gene has been reported to be associated with hypertension and obesity. We analyzed the associations between the GNB3 C825T polymorphism and hemodynamic and body composition phenotypes in the sedentary state and their responses to endurance training in mainly normotensive white (n = 473) and black (n = 255) men and women. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured at rest and during submaximal exercise at constant power output (50 W), and stroke volume and cardiac output were obtained during exercise. Body composition was assessed with underwater weighing. Baseline systolic BP (SBP) at 50 W was slightly higher in the white CC homozygotes (P = 0.036), whereas in blacks the CC genotype was associated with a lower resting HR (P = 0.012). In blacks, the CC homozygotes showed a greater training-induced reduction in HR at 50 W (P = 0.013) and a similar trend was observed also in whites (P = 0.053). Black women carrying the CC genotype showed significantly greater reductions in resting SBP and diastolic BP (DBP) than the TT homozygotes, whereas in black men the changes in resting BP were similar across the genotypes (P < 0.05 for sex-by-GNB3 interactions). The GNB3 genotype was not associated with baseline body composition in blacks or whites. In blacks, the TT genotype was associated with a greater training-induced decrease in fat mass (P = 0.012) and percent body fat (P = 0.006). These data suggest that DNA sequence variation in the GNB3 locus is not a major modifier of endurance training-induced changes in hemodynamic and body composition phenotypes in healthy but previously sedentary subjects. The GNB3 genotype may play a minor role in HR and body fatness regulation in blacks and in responsiveness of resting BP to endurance training in black women.