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Objective: Adrenomedullin (ADM) and adiponectin are both involved in inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. The plasma levels of these peptides are influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ADM and ADIPOQ genes respectively. There is some evidence that ADM may regulate adiponectin gene expression, but whether adiponectin can regulate ADM expression is unclear, and was therefore investigated. Methods: Plasma ADM level was measured in 476 subjects in the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study-2 (CRISPS2). We genotyped them for 2 ADIPOQ SNPs that are known to be associated with plasma adiponectin level. Results: The minor allele frequencies of ADIPOQ SNPs rs182052 and rs12495941 were 40.6% and 42.2% respectively. Plasma ADM level was significantly associated with rs182052 after adjusting for age and sex (β = 0.104, P = 0.023) but not with rs12495941 (β = 0.071, P = 0.120). In multivariate analysis, plasma ADM level increased with the number of minor alleles of rs182052 (P = 0.013). Compared to subjects with GG genotype, subjects with AA genotype had 17.7% higher plasma ADM level (95% CI: 3.6%–33.7%). Subgroup analysis revealed that the association was significant in diabetic patients (β = 0.344, P = 0.001) but not in non-diabetic subjects. Conclusion: Plasma ADM level is related to SNP rs182052 in the ADIPOQ gene. Our findings provide new evidence of the interplay between these two important peptides in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Knowing the genotype may help to refine the interpretation of these biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundInterleukin-6 (IL6) plays a central role in inflammation, insulin resistance, and atherogenesis. We investigated the associations of plasma IL6 and its genetic variants with hypertension in both cross-sectional and prospective study designs.MethodsPlasma IL6 was measured in 648 normotensive and 294 hypertensive subjects from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study (CRISPS)-2 in 2000-2004 and three tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL6 gene were genotyped. Among subjects normotensive in CRISPS-2 (baseline), 515 subjects were followed-up in CRISPS-3 in 2005-2008 and 100 of them had developed hypertension.ResultsAt baseline, plasma IL6 correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r = 0.128, P < 0.001). Hypertensive subjects had significantly higher plasma IL6 after adjusting for age and sex (geometric mean (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.60 (0.54-0.65) vs. 0.47 (0.44-0.50) ng/l, P = 0.021). In multiple logistic regression, higher plasma IL6 was associated with hypertension in women (P = 0.009), but not in men. The minor G allele of SNP rs1800796 was associated with lower plasma IL6 (geometric mean (95% CI) = 0.46 (0.41-0.51) ng/l for CG and 0.49 (0.39-0.62) ng/l for GG vs. 0.53 (0.50-0.57) ng/l for CC, P = 0.005). However, this SNP was not associated with hypertension or blood pressure at baseline. Among subjects normotensive in CRISPS-2, plasma IL6 was not associated with the development of hypertension in CRISPS-3.ConclusionThe SNP rs1800796 affected plasma IL6 with a small effect size. Elevated plasma IL6 is associated with prevalent hypertension in women, but not incident hypertension.American Journal of Hypertension (2011). doi:10.1038/ajh.2011.141 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Adrenomedullin, a vasodilatory peptide, facilitates the differentiation of pre-adipocytes, and affects lipolysis and glucose uptake. We investigated the association of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding adrenomedullin (ADM) with dysglycemia in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Methods: Four SNPs were genotyped in 1391 subjects without dysglycemia at baseline from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study-2, which had a median follow-up time of 6.4years. Dysglycemia included impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes according to the WHO 1998 criteria. At follow-up, 382 subjects had developed dysglycemia. Results: In stepwise logistic regression, the SNP rs11042725 was a significant independent predictor of the development of dysglycemia (OR=1.31, P =0.012), together with baseline age (P <0.001), plasma triglycerides (P <0.001), body mass index (P =0.004), 2-h glucose after oral glucose tolerance test (P <0.001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (P =0.045), and follow-up duration (P =0.009). The association was more significant in women (P =0.002) and in subjects without regular exercise (P =0.001). Conclusions: Our study suggests a potential role of genetic variants in the ADM gene in the development of dysglycemia in our local Chinese population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a biomarker for hepatobiliary and skeletal diseases. It is also raised in sepsis. In atherosclerotic plaques, ALP is expressed. Similar to C-reactive protein (CRP), it may be another marker of systemic inflammation. Therefore, we investigated their association in a Hong Kong Chinese population. Methods: Plasma ALP and CRP were measured in 205 subjects (110 men, 95 women; age 55.2±11.6 years) in the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study-2 cohort. Results: The blood levels of ALP and CRP were significantly correlated (r=0.30, p<0.001), which was due to a significant correlation in women (r=0.43, p<0.001). In a multivariate model, CRP level was related to ALP (β=0.18, p=0.008). After adjusting for confounding factors and other liver enzymes, the relationship between ALP and CRP remained significant in women (β=0.28, p=0.019), but in men, ALP was not an independent determinant of CRP levels. Conclusions: ALP may be another marker of systemic inflammation, especially in women. Whether it provides clinical information additional to CRP requires further study. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:523–7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibrinogen, an acute phase protein, is an important inflammatory marker that is associated with cardiovascular diseases. We studied the association of three common human fibrinogen-β gene (FGB) variants, -455G>A, -249C>T, and -148C>T with glycemic parameters in 265 non-diabetic Hong Kong Chinese subjects. Both FGB variants, -455G>A and -148C>T were in complete linkage disequilibrium and were associated with higher levels of plasma fibrinogen and 2-h glucose after a 75-g oral glucose load (p<0.01). Carriers of FGB AC-haplotype, comprising the two nucleotide variants at positions -455 and -249, had higher fibrinogen level (2.64 ± 0.65 vs 2.42 ± 0.52 g/L, p=0.002) and 2-h glucose after a 75-g oral glucose load (5.87 ± 1.14 vs 5.47 ± 1.22 g/L, p=0.006). The associations were significant in men, but not women. In stepwise multiple regression analysis, AC-haplotype was independently associated with plasma fibrinogen level and 2-h glucose (p=0.002 and 0.010 respectively). This suggests that fibrinogen may play a role in the development of impaired glucose tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]