Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and hypertension disease

Background: The renin–angiotensin system (RAS), which is important for controlling haemostasis in the body, can increase the development of essential hypertension (HTN). Various surveys have shown that ACE I/D polymorphism that influences ACE activity, a key component of RAS, has been known to be associated with the risk of HTN. The goal of this study was to investigate the correlation between ACE (I/D) polymorphism and HTN.Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 102 patients and 104 healthy individuals. The two groups were matched by age and sex. Informed consent was prepared for the study. The demographic data were collected using a questionnaire. White blood cells (WBCs) and then DNA were extracted from whole blood. After this, the PCR test was performed using specific primers. PCR products were examined using 1% agarose gel. Individuals with genotype II having a band of 490 bp, ID two band of 490 bp and 190 bp, and individuals with DD genotype, have a band in region 190 bp.Results: The average age of the patients was 52.7 ± 7.5 years. A significant difference was seen in the distribution of DD, II and I/D genotypes of ACE polymorphism between the essential hypertensive patients (44.1, 10.8, and 45.1%) and their ethnically matched healthy control (61.5, 3.8, and 24.6%, respectively). Our study showed an increased risk of disease in people with II genotype in comparison to ID and DD genotypes (0.46 (0.1–1.75) and 0.26 (0.05–0.94), respectively).Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that ACEI/D polymorphism is characterised with greater risk of essential HTN in the Lorestan province. II genotype increased the relative risk of essential HTN in the population. In the future, more investigations with more samples size are recommended for the better study of genetic factors in hypertensive patients.