OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the polymorphism of alpha-adducin (ADD1) gene and the two phenotypes of constitution in patients with essential hypertension, the Yang-hyperactive (YH) type and phlegm-dampness (PD) type, classified by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) approach.

METHODSTwo hundred and seven patients differentiated by TCM approach as YH type (113 cases) or PD type (94 cases) were observed, with the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) as the criteria of observation. Gly460Trp polymorphism of the ADD1 gene was detected by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Results The levels of BMI, DBP, FBG and UA, etc. in the PD group were significantly higher than those in the YH group respectively. The rate of GG, GT and TT type of ADD1 gene was 29.2%, 41.6% and 29.2% in the YH group, 28.7%, 48.9% and 22.3% in the PD group, showing no significant difference in ADD1 genotype distribution between the two groups, while there was also no difference in the hypertension phenotype distribution among different genotypes (both P > 0.05). For the patients with TT genotype, there were significant differences between the YH group and the PD group in BMI (24.11 +/- 3.04 kg/m2 vs 26.20 +/- 2.30 kg/m2), DBP (96.79 +/- 4.05 mmHg vs 99.56 +/- 3.90 mmHg), FBG (5.01 +/- 0.53 mmol/L vs 5.51 +/- 1.07 mmol/L) and UA level (302.22 +/- 71.95 micromol/L vs 358.25 +/- 88.75 micromol/L, all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThere was no relation between ADD1 gene polymorphism and the TCM genotype of constitution in patients with essential hypertension. However, it is likely that for hypertension patients with TT genotype, those of PD type are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease and have worse prognosis than those of YH type.