Distribution of angiotensin converting enzyme insertion deletion gene polymorphism among two Arab populations

Abstract EN

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene in humans contains an insertion-deletion (I / D) polymorphism in its irons 16.

This polymorphism has been widely investigated in different populations because of its involvement with rennin-angiotensin system.

However, similar studies for Arab populations are limited.

This study addresses the distribution of ACE gene polymorphism in two Arab populations (Egyptians and Syrians).

The polymorphisms of ACE enzyme were investigated using polymerase chain reaction for detection of I/D mutation.

The results showed a high frequency of the ACE D allele among Egyptians (0.67) and Syrians (0.60) which is similar to those obtained from previous studies for Arab populations.

The relationship between ACE alleles and disease in these two Arab populations is still not known, but the present results clearly suggest that ethnic origin should be carefully considered in the increasing number of studies on the association between ACE alleles and disease etiology.

This study adds to the data showing the wide variations in the distribution of the ACE alleles in different populations and highlights that great care needs to be taken when interpreting clinical data on the association of the ACE alleles with different diseases.