Renin-angiotensin system component gene polymorphism in Japanese bronchialasthma patients

The influence of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) component gene polymorphism in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma was investigated in an association study involving 119 bronchial asthma patients and 208 control subjects. Th e selected RAS polymorphisms were angiotensinogen (Agt) T235/M235 and angio tensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D). The control alle lic frequencies of the Agt T235/M235 (0.84/0.16) and ACE I/D (0.63/0.37) in this study were similar to the previous reports in Japanese normal populat ion. The allelic frequencies of the Agt T235/M235 (0.84/0.16) and ACE I/D ( 0.65/0.35) among the asthma patients were not significantly different from those among the control subjects. There was no association between severity of bronchial asthma and the selected RAS component gene polymorphism. From these data, we conclude that in the Japanese population, the RAS component gene polymorphism is not associated with increased risk for bronchial asth ma.