beta(2)-Adrenergic receptor and adenylate cyclase gene polymorphisms affect sickle red cell adhesion.

Sickle red cell (SS RBC) adhesion is thought to contribute to sickle cell disease (SCD) pathophysiology. SS RBC adhesion to laminin increases in response to adrenaline stimulation of beta(2)-adrenergic receptors (beta(2)ARs) and adenylate cyclase (ADCY6), and previous evidence suggests such activation occurs in vivo. We explored whether polymorphisms of the beta(2)AR and ADCY6 genes (ADRB2 and ADCY6, respectively) affect RBC adhesion to laminin. We found that the beta(2)AR arg(16)-->gly substitution and two non-coding ADCY6 polymorphisms were associated with elevated adhesion. We postulate that ADRB2 and ADCY6 polymorphisms may influence SCD severity through the mechanism of RBC adhesion.