Background: Polymorphisms in adrenergic signaling affect the molecular function of adrenergic receptors and related proteins. The β1 adrenergic receptor (ADRB1) Arg389Gly, G-protein receptor kinase type 5 (GRK5) Gln41Leu, G-protein β-3 subunit (GNB3) 825 C/T, and α2c deletion affect adrenergic tone, impact heart failure outcomes and differ in prevalence by ethnicity. Their combined effect within black cohorts remains unknown.
Methods and Results:We analyzed subjects from the African American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT) by assessing event-free survival, quality of life, and gene coinheritance. Significant coinheritance effects on survival included GRK5 Leu41 among subjects coinheriting GNB3 825 C alleles (n = 166, 90.4% vs 69.0%, p < 0.001). By contrast, the impact of ADRB1 Arg389Arg genotype was magnified among subjects with GNB3 825 TT genotype (n = 181, 66.3% vs 85.7%, p = 0.002). The lack of the α2c deletion (i.e., insertion) led to a greater impact of the ARG389Arg genotype (n = 289, 76.4% vs86.1%, p = 0.007).
Conclusions:Polymorphisms in adrenergic signaling affects outcomes in black subjects with heart failure. Coinheritance patterns in genetic variation may help determine heart failure survival.