Genotype Related Differences in β2 Adrenergic Receptor Density and Cardiac Function.

The article presents a study which focuses on several common polymorphisms of the β2 adregenic (ADRB2) have been described including a Glycine (Gly) for arginine (Arg) substitution at amino acid 16. In vivo studies have attributed phenotypic differences in the Arg16Gly polymorphism of the ADRB2 to differences in agonist-mediated desensitization. ADRB2 density has been measured on isolated lymphocytes in healthy subjects matched for age, cardiovascular fitness, body mass index, and gender. Subjects had lower receptor density as well as lower resting cardiac output due to reduced stroke volume. It has been concluded that the resulting data suggest that Arg16Gly polymorphism of the ADRB2 influences receptor density.