Influences of the G1675A polymorphism in angiotensin II type 2 receptor gene on cardiovascular parameters in male athletes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There were few studies about the relationship between the genetic markers in human X chromosome and clinical aspects of athletes. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between the G1675A polymorphism in angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) gene of human X chromosome and cardiovascular parameters of male athletes.METHODS: A total of 115 Korean males (mean age 21.6 +/- 1.5 year) were included in this study, and they were composed of 35 controls and 80 athletes (8 long distance runners, 16 soccer, 8 baseball, 10 basketball, 8 volleyball, 8 ice hocky, 8 judo, 6 taekwondo and 8 gymnastics). The cardiac parameters and biochemical profiles of the subjects were analyzed by M-mode echocardiography and autoanalyzer, respectively, and the genotypic determination of the G1675A polymorphism in AT2R gene performed by SNaPshot method.RESULTS: There were no significant differences in genotype and allele distribution of this genetic polymorphism among each sporting disciplines as well as between controls and athletes, respectively. In addition, this genetic polymorphism was not significantly associated with any cardiovascular parameters studied in both groups, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the G1675A polymorphism in AT2R gene may not be one of the useful genetic markers associated with cardiovascular structure and function in male Korean athletes. Further study using larger sample size and other candidate genes in human X chromosome such as angiotensin I converting enzyme 2(ACE2) gene will be needed.