Deletion allele of angiotensin-converting enzyme is associated with increased risk and severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
OBJECTIVE
To explore whether the deletion (D) allele of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is associated with the risk or severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) among very low birth weight (BW) infants.


METHODS
Infants with a BW < or = 1250 g were prospectively recruited. The D and I (insertion) alleles of ACE were determined using a polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.


RESULTS
Infants with DD/DI genotype of ACE had a (mean +/- SD) birth weight (938 +/- 204 g vs 925 +/- 196 g) and gestational age (28 +/- 3 weeks vs 28 +/- 2 weeks), similar to infants with II genotype of ACE (P > .05). Infants with DD/DI genotype of ACE were more likely to have BPD than infants with II genotype (47% vs 22%, P = .025). Among infants with BPD, ACE DD/DI genotype was more common among infants with moderate or severe BPD compared with infants with mild BPD (74% vs 26%, P = .012). The number of D alleles of ACE correlated directly and positively with the severity of BPD (R = 0.23, P = .045).


CONCLUSIONS
The D allele of ACE is associated with an increased risk and severity of BPD among preterm infants.
Kazzi
S Nadya J
SN
Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich 48201, USA. nkazzi@med.wayne.edu
Quasney
Michael W
MW
D001997:Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A