The Impact of β 2 Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphisms on the Outcomes in Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) include a heterogeneous group of multifactorial conditions and represent the major health problem in the western society. Many studies have evidenced that inter-individual variability affects the prognosis and the response to pharmacological treatment in patients with CVD. The identification of genetic markers to select patients more susceptible to develop cardiovascular complications has a therapeutic interest for undertaking individualized therapeutic approach. The sympathetic nervous system acts through adrenergic receptor subtypes and plays a key role in the development and prognosis of CVD. In particular, β-2 adrenergic receptors (β2AR), expressed in a wide variety of tissues, are critical regulators of cardiac output, peripheral vascular resistance and metabolism. Several variations with multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in β2AR gene. There are 3 common β2AR polymorphisms characterized in more detail for their influence on functional receptor activity. In particular, the changing an arginine for a glycine at position 16 of the receptor protein (Arg16Gly) is associated with increased agonist-induced down-regulation; the substitution of glutamine with glutamic acid at position 27 (Gln27Glu) leads to resistance to down-regulation; the substitution of threonine with isoleucine (Thr164Ile) at position 164 causes receptor uncoupling from the G protein. Many studies have indicated the association of β2AR polymorphisms with various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and have contributed to indicate the β2AR gene variants an appropriate target for investigating possible links between receptor polymorphisms, drug responses and susceptibility to CVD. However, the reports on the association of β2AR polymorphisms with clinical outcomes of CVD have been contradictory. In this review, we will illustrate the effects of β2ARs genetic variability on the management of CVD.