Abstract:
We studied the distribution of the D-D, I-D, and I-I genotypes of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in a sample of healthy Lebanese individuals to assess their prevalence and compare them with other populations. ACE genotypes were determined using the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) StripAssay, which is based on a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Reverse hybridization technique. DNA from 133 unrelated healthy donors from our HLA-bank was used. The prevalence of D-D, I-D, and I-I genotypes was found to be 39.1, 45.1, and 15.8percent respectively, with D and I allelic frequency of 61.7 and 38.3percent, respectively. The sampled Lebanese population showed ACE genotypic distributions similar to Caucasians; however, with tendency towards harboring high D allele frequency together with a low I allele frequency just like the Spanish population. This first report from Lebanon will serve as a baseline statistical data for future investigations of the prevalence of ACE genotypes in association with various clinical entities notably cardiovascular diseases. The medical literature was also reviewed in this context. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.