Association between angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism and serum levels in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism and serum ACE levels in patients with essential hypertension (EH) among Uygur and Han individuals in Xinjiang. Methods By using a random sampling method, 104 EH patients treated in Shufu County People's Hospital, Kashgar of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region between August 2012 and January 2014 were included in this study as the EH group, and a contemporary cohort of 102 healthy people who visited our clinic for routine checkup as normotensive controls (NT group). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect I/D polymorphism of intron 16 on ACE gene. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry was used to measure the serum ACE level. Multiple linear regression was performed to analyze the relationship between ACE genotypes and serum ACE levels. Results Serum ACE levels in Uygur and Han EH patients were higher than those in the NT group [Uygur: (45.21±14.53) U/L vs (29.05±8.42) U/L, Han: (46.42 ± 16.45) U/L vs (42.27±12.84) U/L, both P<0.05]. In either EH or NT group, the serum ACE level varied across ACE genotypes with statistically significant difference (both P<0.05) , and was highest in genotype DD, followed by DI and II genotypes (all P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the DD and DI genotypes was associated with significantly elevated serum ACE level compared with the II genotype in Uygur and Han individuals (β=25.677 and 9.072, both P<0.05). Conclusion ACE gene polymorphism is associated with serum ACE level in Uygur and Han individuals in Xinjiang region. Key words: Angiotensin-converting enzyme; Hypertension; Polymorphism; Han nationality; Uygur nationality