title: ACE DD genotype: a predisposing factor for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the role of polymorphisms in angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, I/D) and angiotensin II receptor (AT1R, A1166C) in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated 250 consecutive patients, 217 males and 33 females (median age 72, range 50-83), undergone AAA elective repair and 250 healthy controls, comparable for sex and age. ACE and AT1R polymorphisms were studied by PCR-RFLP analysis. The genotype distribution was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all polymorphisms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The genotype distribution and allele frequency of ACE I/D, but not AT1R A1166C polymorphism were significantly different between patients and controls (ACE I/D: p=0.0002 and p<0.0001, respectively, and AT1R A1166C: p=0.6 and p=0.4, respectively). An association between the ACE DD genotype and the predisposition to AAA was found (OR DD vs. ID+II=1.9 95% CI 1.3-2.9, p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, traditional vascular risk factors and other atherosclerotic localizations, showed ACE DD genotype to be independently related to the disease (OR DD vs. ID+II=2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.2 p=0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings document that ACE DD genotype represents a susceptibility factor for AAA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Surgical Critical Care, Thrombosis Centre, Degenerative and Neoplastic Diseases to Develop Novel Therapies, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fatini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pratesi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sofi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gensini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sticchi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lari
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pulli
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dorigo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Azas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pratesi
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gensini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abbate
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D015984:Causality; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011945:Receptors, Angiotensin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011945:Receptors, Angiotensin; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A