Plasma Adiponectin, T94G Gene Polymorphism and PAI-1 in Patients with and without Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Reduced adiponectin level has been associated with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease and gene polymorphisms, but the interrelationships of T94G genotype, plasma adiponectin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) are less understood. Patients and Methods: The T94G genotypes and plasma levels of adiponectin, and PAI-1 were determined in 568 Chinese patients, 212 with and 356 without hypertension, to study the possible associations of T94G genotype, plasma adiponectin, PAI-1 and blood pressure. Results: Hypertensive patients showed significantly lower plasma adiponectin (9.7 ± 11.1 vs. 11.5 ± 10.0 µg/ml, p = 0.04) and higher PAI-1 (p < 0.001) levels but not significantly greater adiponectin TT genotype percentage (38.7 vs. 33.5%) and T allele frequency (0.620 vs. 0.585) than normotensive subjects. Plasma adiponectin was inversely related to PAI-1 activity (r = –0.09, p = 0.03) and antigen (r = –0.202, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the TT genotypic group showed significantly lower plasma adiponectin level (10.4 ± 10.5 vs. 13.4 ± 10.8 µg/ml, p = 0.03) and higher plasma PAI-1 activity (17.0 ± 9.7 vs. 13.5 ± 7.6 IU/ml, p = 0.003) and antigen (32.3 ± 22.7 vs. 25.9 ± 14.7 ng/ml, p = 0.01) than the GG genotypic group. Multiple linear regression analysis in all study subjects, in men and in normotensives documented an impact of adiponectin T94G genotype on plasma levels of adiponectin (p = 0.007, 0.003 and 0.03) and PAI-1 activity (p = 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04) and antigen (p = 0.03, 0.007 and 0.04) after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated a significant correlation of the TT genotype with lower plasma adiponectin and higher plasma PAI-1 levels in a Chinese population. The contribution of this genotype seemed greater in men and normotensives. It suggested the adiponectin gene T94G polymorphism might affect the regulation of circulating adiponectin and PAI-1.