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Washington: American researchers have identified a gene variant, which affects the way the kidneys process salt, thus in turn affects blood pressure, according to media reports Tuesday quoting the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to the results of a study being published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the STK39 gene is the first hypertension susceptibility gene to be uncovered through a new technique called a genome-wide association study and confirmed by data from several independent studies.

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers identified the role in high blood pressure susceptibility by analyzing the genes of 542 people in the insular Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Located on chromosome 2, the gene produces a protein that helps to regulate how the kidneys process salt, which plays a key role in determining blood pressure.

We hope that it will lead to new therapies to combat this serious public health problem worldwide,” says the senior author, Yen-Pei Christy Chang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

“We want to determine how people with different variations of this gene respond to diuretics and other medications, or to lifestyle changes, such as reducing the amount of salt in their diet. This information might help us discover the most effective way to control an individual patient’’s blood pressure,” the expert added.

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