Association between CYP11B2 rs1799998 genetic variant with essential hypertension and antihypertensive response

Essential hypertension (EH) is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The CYP11B2 gene, encoding aldosterone synthase, plays a major role in blood pressure regulation. This study investigated the association of the CYP11B2 -344C/T (rs1799998) variant with EH in Jordanians and evaluated its influence on response to amlodipine and valsartan.

A case-control study was conducted involving 309 Jordanian participants (154 hypertensive patients and 155 normotensive controls). Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded before and after 1 month of treatment with either 80 mg valsartan or 10 mg amlodipine.

Genotype frequencies (TT: 32.0%, TC: 50.5%, CC: 17.5%) and T allele frequency (57.28%) did not differ significantly between hypertensive and control groups (p > 0.05). No association was found between rs1799998 and EH. Both valsartan and amlodipine significantly reduced BP (p < 0.001). While no CYP11B2 -344C/T genotype-dependent response was seen with valsartan, amlodipine was more effective in TT genotype carriers (SBP: 37 ± 2.0 mmHg, DBP: 20 ± 0.2 mmHg) compared to TC and CC (p = 0.028).

The CYP11B2 -344C/T variant was not associated with EH in Jordanians, but it was associated with amlodipine response. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to validate these findings.