Epidemiological Evidence of an Association between SLC6A2 Gene Polymorphism and Hypertension

Selective blockade of the norepinephrine transporter with reboxetine has been reported to induce a slight but significant increase in blood pressure. This study was designed to examine the relation of genetic variants of the norepinephrine transporter gene (solute carrier family 6, member 2; SLC6A2) with hypertension in a Japanese population. We genotyped five genetic variants of SLC6A2, three in the promoter region and two in the intronic sequence, in 1,950 subjects recruited from the Suita study. One of the variants, an A>G polymorphism in the promoter region (Promoter 3 polymorphism), was found to be associated with hypertension. Multiple logistic analysis indicated that sex (p =0.0223), age (p