Development and application of low-cost T-ARMS-PCR assay for AGT and CYP11B1 gene polymorphisms

Angiotensin II (Ang II: a truncated octapeptide of angiotensinogen, AGT) and 11-β-hydroxylase influence regulation of blood pressure. Dysregulation of Ang II and 11-β-hydroxylase can lead to hypertension and elevate aldosterone levels. Polymorphisms in AGT (encodes AGT) and CYP11B1 (encodes 11-β-hydroxylase) shift the paradigm from physiological to pathological. Currently, various high-throughput techniques are used to genotype these polymorphisms. These techniques require expensive infrastructure and reagents. However, in developing countries, where cost is the main limiting factor, it is not feasible to use expensive techniques. So, the aim of current study was to develop efficient low-cost method for genotyping of cardiovascular disease and hypertension associated polymorphisms of AGT (rs4762, rs5051) and CYP11B1 (rs6410). For this, tetra amplification-refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) method was developed and optimized for aforementioned AGT and CYP11B1 gene polymorphisms. Efficiency of T-ARMS-PCR was tested by genotyping 776 human samples. These T-ARMS-PCR assays were also validated by Sanger DNA sequencing, where 100% concordance was found, allowing the efficient use of these T-ARMS-PCR assays for polymorphism genotyping in AGT and CYP11B1 in resource limited settings. T-ARMS-PCR is low-cost, efficient and reliable assay for genotyping of AGT and CYP11B1 gene polymorphisms.