Deletion allele of angiotensin-converting enzyme is associated with increased risk and severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Objective To explore whether the deletion (D) allele of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is associated with the risk or severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) among very low birth weight (BW) infants. Study design Infants with a BW <= 1250 g were prospectively recruited. The D and I (insertion) alleles of ACE were determined using a polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results Infants with DD/DI genotype of ACE bad a (mean +/- SD) birth weight (938 +/- 204 g vs 925 +/- 196 g) and gestational. p age (28 +/- 3 weeks vs 28 +/- 2 weeks), similar to infants with 11 genotype of ACE (P > .05). Infants with DD/DI genotype of ACE were more likely to have BPD than infants with II genotype (47% vs 22%, P = .025). Among infants with BPD, ACE DD/DI genotype was more common among infants with moderate or severe BPD compared with infants with mild BPD (74% vs 26%, P = .012). The number of D alleles of ACE correlated directly,and positively with the severity of BPD (R = 0.23, P = .045). Conclusion The D allele of ACE is associated with an increased risk and severity of BPD among preterm infants.