title: Angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism in Turkish asthmatic patients.
abstract: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Several candidate genes have been identified with a potential role in the pathogenesis of asthma, including the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene. We aimed to investigate the frequency of an ACE gene polymorphism in Turkish asthmatic patients and to determine its impact on clinical parameters and disease severity. Ninety-seven asthmatic patients (M/F 25/72, mean age 39 +/- 13 years) and 96 healthy subjects (M/F 26/70, mean age 38 +/- 12 years) were included. At baseline, all participants completed a questionnaire on demographics, symptoms, triggering factors, severity of asthma, and the presence of atopism. Blood samples were obtained from all patients and genomic DNA was isolated. The frequency of the ACE genotypes (I = insertion and D = deletion) among asthmatics and controls were compared: asthmatics showed a 40.2% prevalence of the DD genotype (n = 39), ID was 45.4% (n = 44), and II was 14.4% (n = 14.4). In the control subjects, the frequency of DD was 18.8% (n = 18), ID was 50% (n = 48) and II was 31.3% (n = 30). The DD ACE genotype was significantly more frequent in asthmatics compared with controls (p < 0.001). Asthmatics with the ID ACE genotype showed a higher frequency of drug allergies, although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.08). Asthmatics with the DD genotype appeared to have a higher incidence of asthmatic episode exacerbations due to viral infections, but again this was not statistically significant (p = 0.08). Patients with mild or moderate-severe asthma had similar frequencies of these mutations. We found a higher frequency of the ACE DD gene mutation in Turkish asthmatic patients compared with non-asthmatics, suggesting that this ACE gene polymorphism may be a risk factor for asthma but does not increase the severity of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Marmara University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. emeleryuksel@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Emel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eryüksel
authors.forename: Berrin Bağci
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Ceyhan
authors.forename: Rifat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bircan
authors.forename: Melike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Avşar
authors.forename: Beyazit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cirakoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A