Genetic Predisposition to Diabetic Nephropathy: Role of I/D ACE Gene Polymorphism

Abstract

Introduction - Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease and the most common and serious complication of diabetes. Its exact pathogenesis is complex and not completely elucidated. Several factors and mechanisms contribute to the development and the outcome of this pathology.
The objectives of our work are to determine the frequency of the Insertion (I) / Deletion (D) polymorphism of the ACE gene (angiotensin-converting enzyme) in diabetic patients with and without nephropathy and to establish the relationship between this polymorphism and nephropathy diabetic in a population of eastern Algeria.
Patients and methods - To this end, we recruited twenty-nine diabetic subjects with nephropathy and thirty diabetic controls without nephropathy. DNA extraction was performed on fresh blood by the NaCl method and the I / D polymorphism of the ACE gene was determined by PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Results - The average duration of diabetes in our patients is 19.21 ± 9.31 years; that of the controls is 10.67 ± 7.66 years. Type 1 diabetes is more common in nephropaths (72.41%), in controls the frequency of type 2 diabetes is higher (73.33%). Macroangiopathic complications are more prevalent in nephropaths. In addition, the association of two or more complications is frequently found. The frequencies of alleles I and D are respectively 13.79% and 86.21% in the control subjects while the allelic frequencies in the subjects with nephropathy are respectively 19.64% and 80.36%.                           Conclusion - No significant association between this polymorphism and diabetic nephropathy has been demonstrated.