ANGIOTENSIN-I CONVERTING-ENZYME AND ANGIOTENSINOGEN GENE POLYMORPHISMS IN NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS - LACK OF RELATIONSHIP WITH DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY AND RETINOPATHY IN A CAUCASIAN MEDITERRANEAN POPULATION

Genotypic abnormalities of the renin-angiotensin system have been sugg ested as a risk factor for the development of microangiopathic complic ations in diabetic patients. We studied the relationship of either an insertion-deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme ( ACE) gene and the M235T and T174M variant polymorphisms of the angiote nsinogen (AGT) gene in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients and its relationship with cardiovascular complications. A to tal of 193 NIDDM patients (89 men and 104 women aged 59.2 +/- 10.0 yea rs; diabetes duration, 13.2 +/- 6.2 years) and 90 control subjects (42 men and 48 women aged 45.4 +/- 12.6 years) were recruited for the ass ociation study. Distribution of the genotype or allelic frequencies fo r all the studied polymorphisms did not differ significantly between c ontrols and NIDDM patients. ACE and AGT genes did not display any diff erence in clinical or metabolic parameters according to each gene's ge notype for either the control or the NIDDM group. For evaluation of ne phropathy and retinopathy, NIDDM patients were matched with subjects n ot having microangiopathic complications. Thus, a total of 60 patients had diabetic nephropathy and were compared with 100 patients with nor moalbuminuria. Sixty-eight NIDDM patients had diabetic retinopathy, an d 92 patients presented no signs of retinopathy. There were no differe nces in genotypic or allelic distribution between NIDDM patients for e ither the presence or absence of retinopathy or nephropathy. We conclu de that the ACE and AGT polymorphisms do not contribute to the genetic susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy in a caucasian Mediterranean population. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company .