Microarray analysis of differential gene expression profile in peripheral blood cells of patients with human essential hypertension

The polygenic nature of essential hypertension and its dependence on environmental factors pose a challenge for biomedical research. We hypothesized that the analysis of gene expression profiles from peripheral blood cells would distinguish patients with hypertension from normotensives. In order to test this, total RNA from peripheral blood cells was isolated. RNA was reversed-transcribed and labeled and gene expression analyzed using significance Analysis Microarrays (Stanford University, CA, USA). Briefly, Significance Analysis Microarrays (SAM) thresholding identified 31 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated genes with fold changes of ≥2 or ≤0.5 and q-value≤5% in expression. Statistically significantly gene ontology (GO) function and biological process differentially expressed in essential hypertension were MHC class II receptor activity and immune response respectively. Biological pathway analysis identified several related pathways which are associated with immune/inflammatory responses. Quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR results were consistent with the microarray results. The levels of C-reactive protein were higher in hypertensive patients than normotensives and inflammation-related genes were increased as well. In conclusion, genes enriched for "immune/inflammatory responses" may be associated with essential hypertension. In addition, there is a correlation between systemic inflammation and hypertension. It is anticipated that these findings may provide accurate and efficient strategies for prevention, diagnosis and control of this disorder.