title: The insertion-deletion polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with increased blood pressure in women at the end of pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malfunctioning of the cardiovascular system during pregnancy may be responsible for adverse effects on the 'mother-fetus' system. The cardiovascular system of a pregnant woman develops adaptation to the increased load. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is known to play an important role in the adaptation. The present study was designed to investigate whether the insertion-deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with the level of arterial blood pressure in women before and during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The level of blood pressure was measured in 591 Russian women (Central Russia) before and during (37-40 weeks term) pregnancy. The women were divided into three groups which were hypertensive, hypotensive, and normotensive according to blood pressure level. Genotyping of the ACE I/D polymorphism was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with genotype DD showed the highest blood pressure level both during and at the end of pregnancy (p<0.05). The highest frequencies of allele D and genotype DD were found in pregnant women in the hypertensive group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The deletion variant of the ACE gene is associated with high blood pressure level at the end of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biological Disciplines, Belgorod National Research University, Russia reshetnikov@bsu.edu.ru.
authors.forename: Evgeny A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Reshetnikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biological Disciplines, Belgorod National Research University, Russia.
authors.forename: Ludmila Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Akulova
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biological Disciplines, Belgorod National Research University, Russia.
authors.forename: Irina S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Dobrodomova
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Volodymyr Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Dvornyk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Medical Genetics and Ecology, Kursk State Medical University, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexey V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Polonikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biological Disciplines, Belgorod National Research University, Russia.
authors.forename: Mikhail I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Churnosov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D054643:INDEL Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C488034:ACE protein, human; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A
keywords: Angiotensin-converting enzyme; arterial hypertension; blood pressure; insertion-deletion polymorphism; pregnancy