Is there an association between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) genotypes and abdominal aortic aneurysm?

There is strong evidence of a genetic predisposition to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), however the genes involved remain largely elusive. Recently, two large studies have suggested an association between the angiotensin converting enzyme gene and AAA. This study aimed to investigate the possible association between the ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in order to replicate the findings of other authors.

A case-control study was performed including 1155 patients with aneurysms and 996 screened control subjects. DNA was extracted from whole blood and genotypes determined in 1155 AAAs and 996 controls using a two stage polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.

The groups were reasonably matched in terms of risk factors for AAA. No association was found between the ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and AAA in this study.

This study cannot support the findings of previous authors and provides evidence against a link between the ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and AAA.