Association of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene Polymorphisms and Nephropathy in Diabetic Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India

Background: Genetic polymorphisms of the angiotensin-renin pathway have been thought to influence the development of diabetic nephropathy. However, there are conflicting results regarding this association in previous studies on populations with varying ethnicity. Aims: Primary aim was to compare the frequency of distribution of angiotensin-converting enzyme ( ACE) gene (insertion/deletion [I/D]) polymorphism in Tamilian Indian type 2 diabetic individuals with and without microalbuminuria. Secondary objective was to compare the frequency of distribution of the 3 genotypes in diabetic patients with urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) < 30 mg/dL, urinary ACR = 30 to 300 mg/dL, and urinary ACR > 300 mg/dL. Methods: A total of 179 consecutive diabetic individuals between 40 and 70 years, from Puducherry and Tamilnadu of Dravidian descent participated in the study conducted from 2012 to 2014. Inclusion criteria were as follows: age ≥ 40 years and duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus for ≥5 years. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on ACR values. Group 1 consisted of 50 individuals with urinary ACR < 30 mg/g of creatinine, and group 2 consisted of 129 individuals with urinary ACR > 30 mg/g. Angiotensin I–converting enzyme ( ACE) gene polymorphism was determined by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction method using a primer pair flanking the polymorphic region of its intron 16. Furthermore, group 2 patients were subdivided into those with urinary ACR = 30 to 300 mg/g of creatinine and those with urinary ACR > 300 mg/g of creatinine, and distribution of ACE gene polymorphism was compared in the three groups. Statistics: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 17.0. Independent Student t test was used to compare mean values between the 2 groups. Odds ratio was calculated for testing association between ACE gene (I/D) polymorphism and presence of microalbuminuria. P < .05 was considered significant. Comparison of ACE genotypes among 3 groups of patients (ACR < 30 mg/g, ACR = 30-300 mg/g, and ACR > 300 mg/g) was done using 1-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni multiple comparison test as post hoc analysis. Conclusions: Heterozygous I/D genotype was more frequent in the study population (45.8%) than the other genotypes. There was no difference in the genotype distribution in patients with varying levels of albuminuria.