Genetic Polymorphism of Heme-oxygenase-1 in Thai Population with Low Environmental Cadmium Exposure

Abstract

The aims of the study were to investigate (i) the effects of environmental cadmium
(Cd) on high blood pressure development, (ii) the association between genetic polymorphism
of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and high blood pressure development, and cadmium-induced
renal injury in exposed Thai population. The study was a case-control study in adults residing
in a Cd contaminated area (Mae Sot District, Thailand). All subjects were randomly selected
and consistently distributed for sex, age and residential areas. Blood and urinary Cd levels
were not significantly different between the case (hypertensive subjects) and control (healthy
subjects) groups. While other kidney dysfunction parameters were comparable between the
two groups, microalbumin and serum creatinine showed significant difference (p=0.008 and
p=0.02, respectively). With respect to HO-1 polymorphism, the frequencies of S (short), M
(medium) and L (long) alleles in this group of subjects were 49.7, 44.4 and 5.9%,
respectively. The frequencies of S, M and L alleles between the matched pair case and the
control groups were not significantly different.