Background/Aim: Few studies were performed to examine the linkage between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and essential hypertension with conflicting results. Therefore, we carried out this study to determine if this polymorphism was associated with an altered risk of hypertension and its relation to serum ACE in a sector of Egyptian population.
Patients and Methods: Sixty-eight normotensive subjects and 66 hypertensive patients with systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm Hg were selected without history or sign of any other cardiac disease. All subjects were recruited from internal medicine outpatient clinic of Sohag faculty of medicine from June 2015 to August 2015. The polymorphism of ACE gene was investigated using polymerase chain reaction for detection of ACE I/D genotype frequency in hypertensive cases.
Results: Serum ACE was significantly higher in hypertensive group than in normotensive one: 27.5±4.4 and 21.3±5.4 ng/mL; respectively. Mean systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and urinary protein excretion in DD genotype were 181±17 mm Hg, 112±19 mm Hg, 3.8±0.48 mg/mL and 141.5±36.8 mg/day; respectively but in II genotype they were 142±10 mm Hg, 99±13 mm Hg, 4.35±0.4 mg/mL and 116.4±36 mg/day; respectively. In hypertensive patients, serum ACE levels in DD, ID and II genotypes were 36.2±5.7, 22.1±3.7 and 24.5±4.9 units; respectively.
Conclusion: D/D ACE gene polymorphism plays a role in the development of target organ damage in severe essential hypertension and might have a prognostic value. It can be considered as one of the risk factor of hypertension.