The insertion-deletion polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with increased blood pressure in women at the end of pregnancy

Introduction: Malfunctioning of the cardiovascular system during pregnancy may be responsible for adverse effects on the 'mother-fetus' system. The cardiovascular system of a pregnant woman develops adaptation to the increased load. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is known to play an important role in the adaptation. The present study was designed to investigate whether the insertion-deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the ACE gene is associated with the level of arterial blood pressure in women before and during pregnancy.

Materials and methods: The level of blood pressure was measured in 591 Russian women (Central Russia) before and during (37-40 weeks term) pregnancy. The women were divided into three groups which were hypertensive, hypotensive, and normotensive according to blood pressure level. Genotyping of the ACE I/D polymorphism was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism assay.

Results: Women with genotype DD showed the highest blood pressure level both during and at the end of pregnancy (p<0.05). The highest frequencies of allele D and genotype DD were found in pregnant women in the hypertensive group.

Conclusions: The deletion variant of the ACE gene is associated with high blood pressure level at the end of pregnancy.