Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University, and Rheumatic Disease Unit, Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait. aalawadhi@hsc.edu.kw
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism genotypes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to study the correlation between I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene and the clinical manifestations of SLE, especially vascular involvement, lupus nephritis and disease severity. METHODS: The frequency of ACE gene I/D polymorphism genotypes was determined in 92 patients with SLE from Kuwait, and compared to that in 100 ethnically matched healthy controls using the polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The distribution of ACE I/D polymorphism and allele frequencies in SLE patients was not significantly different from controls. Further analyses of SLE patients showed that there was a significant association between DD genotype and Raynaud's phenomenon (p=0.008, odd ratio=5.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.6-18.6). However, there was no significant association between the ACE genotype and lupus nephritis or disease severity. CONCLUSION: No difference was found between the distribution of the ACE genotype in SLE patients and the general pop-ulation in Kuwait. However, the presence of the DD genotype may confer susceptibility to the development of vascular morbidity.