ACE gene polymorphism and its association with serum erythropoietin and hemoglobin in iraqi hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the frequencies of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in Iraqi hemodialysis patients and to examine the association between this polymorphism and serum erythropoietin and hemoglobin levels. Methods: In this study, 70 chronic renal failure Iraqi patients on maintenance hemodialysis (patient group) and 20 healthy subjects (control group) were genotyped for angiotensinconverting enzyme gene polymorphism. The distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of this polymorphism in these subjects were also evaluated. Results: The distribution of angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes between groups was similar, and the ID genotype was the most frequent, followed by DD and II genotypes (50%, 37%, and 13%). The control group had a nonsignificant difference in serum erythropoietin levels among different angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes, while patients with ID and DD genotypes displayed significant elevation in serum erythropoietin with time. No significant differences in hemoglobin levels were observed in patient and control groups. A significant positive correlation was observed between serum erythropoietin and hemoglobin in the control group with different angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes, while a nonsignificant negative correlation was observed in the patient group throughout the study. Conclusions: Chronic kidney disease did not significantly alter angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes, and angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism had a significant effect on serum erythropoietin levels and a nonsignificant effect on hemoglobin levels.