Objective: Adrenomedullin (ADM) plays an important role in inflammation and is a marker of future cardiovascular events. We studied common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding ADM and their relationship with the plasma levels of ADM and other inflammatory markers.
Design and methods: Plasma ADM, interleukin 6 (IL6), fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in 476 subjects from the population-based Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study-2. Four tag SNPs in ADM were genotyped.
Results: Plasma ADM level increased with decreasing plasma IL6 level (β=-0.116, P=0.014). Plasma ADM level was not related to plasma levels of CRP and fibrinogen, and other clinical characteristics, except age (P=0.049). The four SNPs, rs3814700, rs11042725, rs34354539, and rs4910118, had minor allele frequencies of 31.1, 28.7, 33.8, and 23.4% respectively. Carriers of the minor allele of rs4910118 had a mean plasma ADM level that was 10.5% (95% confidential interval: 2.5-17.8%) lower than the non-carriers (β=-0.115, P=0.011). Haplotype analysis revealed a similar significant association with plasma ADM (P=0.040). In multivariate analysis, the presence of the minor allele of rs4910118, but not plasma IL6, was independently associated with plasma ADM (P=0.010).
Conclusion: Plasma ADM correlates with plasma IL6 level, consistent with its role in inflammation. It is related to an SNP common in Chinese, independent of other covariates. ADM genotype should be included in future studies of cardiovascular risk prediction.