Gene–Environment Interactions: Their Role in Hypertension Development

Abstract

Essential hypertension is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases, the etiology of which is not yet completely understood. The problem is that blood pressure (BP) is a typical quantitative trait with multifactorial determination. The interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors as well as gene gene interactions cause modifications of various systems that adjust blood pressure to actual living conditions. Numerous environmental factors surrounding the organism could modify its development not only by the influence on the expression of genetic information but mainly by epigenetic mechanisms. However, despite considerable research effort, it is still difficult to identify all genes and/or other genetic determinants leading to essential hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. This is mainly because these diseases usually become a medical problem in adulthood, although their roots might be traced back to earlier stages of ontogeny. The link between distinct developmental periods (e.g., birth and adulthood) should involve the changes in gene expression involving epigenetic phenomena. The purpose of the present paper is to bring some light on gene environmental interactions potentially implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension, with special attention to epigenetic inheritance.