An miR-143 promoter variant associated with essential hypertension

MicroRNAs like miR-143 are increasingly linked to disease pathogenesis. miR-143 is enriched in vascular smooth muscle, and several single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in this miRNA. The aim of the current study was to explore a potential correlation between a polymorphism in the miR-143 promoter region, rs4705342, and essential hypertension (EH). Genotyping for miR-143 rs4705342 was performed from blood samples of 156 EH patients (case group) and 187 healthy individuals (control group) using a TaqMan assay. Participant demographic and clinical characteristics were also collected. Logistic regression was used to identify an association between genotype and EH, and odds ratios of EH risk were also determined. Frequencies of the CC, CT, and TT genotypes differed significantly between case (7.7%, 40.4%, 51.9%) and control (15.0%, 48.1%, 36.9%) groups (χ(2) = 9.400, P = 0.009). Further, the frequency of the C allele was lower in the case group than in the control group (27.9% vs. 39.0%, P = 0.002). Compared with those having the TT genotype, patients carrying the CC and CT genotypes had a significantly reduced risk for EH (OR = 0.541, 95% CI = 0.351-0.834, P = 0.005), particularly for females, nonsmokers, and those not consuming alcohol (P < 0.05). Thus, the rs4705342 polymorphism in the miR-143 appears to be associated with essential hypertension, and further study is needed to understand the molecular mechanism producing this effect.