title: The role of angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphism in congestive heart failure.
abstract: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a zinc metallopeptidase, with primary known functions of converting angiotensin I into the vasoactive and aldosterone-stimulating peptide angiotensin II and inactivating bradykinin. There is high variability among individuals in ACE concentrations, mainly due to the presence of a genetic polymorphism. The ACE gene has, in fact, insertion/deletion polymorphism in intron 16, consisting of a 287-base pair Alu repeat sequence, with three genotypes: insertion polymorphism, insertion/deletion polymorphism, and deletion polymorphism. The genetic effect accounts for 47% of the total variance of serum ACE. The determination of this polymorphism has allowed researchers to study the implications of the ACE gene in many case-control studies of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy. We review the current knowledge about the ACE gene polymorphism and its implications in heart failure secondary to ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Interpretation of the results of studies about the role of this polymorphism are controversial. The repetition of epidemio-genetic studies and the creation of adequate experimental studies will help to definitively establish the pathogenetic role of the permanent increase in ACE expression associated with the deletion polymorphism genotype.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Chirurgiche, Sezione di Cardiologia, Università di Verona, Ospedale Civile Maggiore, Piazzale Stefani 1, 37126 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pilati
authors.forename: Mariantonietta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cicoira
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zanolla
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muraglia
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zardini
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A