Urinary levels of tissue kallikrein in black and Indian hypertensives and their implications for therapy

• Published in: South African medical journal Vol. 88 Suppl 2; pp. C73 - C78
• Main Authors: Seedat, Y K, Bhoola, K D, Muller, R, Randeree, I G, Pillay, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: South Africa 01.04.1998
• Subjects: Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group; Analysis of Variance; Blood Pressure; Electrolytes - urine; European Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Humans; Hypertension - ethnology; Hypertension - urine; India - ethnology; Kallikreins - urine; Male; Middle Aged; Statistics, Nonparametric; Time Factors; India
• ISSN: 0256-9574

It is accepted that blacks differ from white and Indian hypertensives in their response to hypotensive agents. Black hypertensives in the USA have lower urinary tissue kallikrein (TK) excretion levels than white hypertensives. It has been suggested that blacks respond better to thiazide diuretics than to beta-blockers because thiazides increase TK excretion whereas beta-blockers decrease it. This study compares the excretion of urinary TK in black and Indian hypertensive and normotensive subjects. Urinary TK levels were measured with the selective, synthetic peptic substrate with the sequence of H-D-Val-Leu-Arg-pNA. Ten hypertensive patients on placebo therapy and 10 normotensive black and Indian subjects provided 3 samples at weeks 0, 2 and 4 for the determination of urinary TK. The results were analysed and analysis of variance was used to compare the two racial groups. There were no significant differences in urinary TK values of the three biweekly individual samples. Urinary TK values (ng TK/microgram protein) in Indian hypertensives were generally lower than in black hypertensives.