Abstract
The deletion (D) allele of the human ACE gene is associated with higher ACE activity than the insertion (I) allele. There is controversy as to whether the ACE genotype may be associated with elite athletic status; recent studies have identified no significant associations amongst those drawn from mixed sporting disciplines. However, such lack of association may reflect the mixed nature of such cohorts, given that an excess frequency of the I allele has been reported amongst elite endurance athletes, and an excess of the D allele amongst those engaged in more power-orientated sports. We examined this hypothesis by determining ACE I/D allele frequency amongst 217 Russian athletes (swimmers, skiers, triathletes and track-and-field participants) prospectively stratified by performance (‘outstanding’ or ‘average’), and the duration of their event (SDA (<1 min), MDA (1 to 20 min), and LDA (>20 min): short, middle and long distance athletes respectively). ACE genotype and allele frequencies were compared to 449 controls. ACE genotype frequency amongst the whole cohort, or the outstanding athletes alone, was no different to that amongst sedentary controls. However, there was an excess of the D allele (frequency 0.72, P=0.001) amongst the outstanding SDA group, and an excess of the I allele (frequency 0.63, P=0.032) amongst the outstanding MDA group. These findings were replicated in the outstanding swimmers, with track and field SDA similarly demonstrating an excess of the D allele (P=0.01). There was no association found between the outstanding LDA and ACE genotype (P=0.27). These data not only confirm an excess of the D allele in elite SDA, and I allele in elite MDA, but also offer an explanation as to why any such association may be hard to detect amongst a heterogeneous cohort of mixed athletic ability and discipline.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Rigat B, Hubert C, Alhenc-Gelas F, Cambien F, Corvol P, Soubrier F . An insertion/deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin-1-converting enzyme gene accounting for half the variance of serum enzyme levels J Clin Invest 1990 86: 1343–1346
Danser AHJ, Schalekamp MADH, Bax WA et al. Angiotensin converting enzyme in the human heart: effect of the deletion/insertion polymorphism Circulation 1995 92: 1387–1388
Myerson S, Hemingway H, Budget R, Martin J, Humphries S, Montgomery H . Human angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene and endurance performance J Appl Physiol 1999 87: 1313–1316
Montgomery HE, Marshall RM, Hemingway H et al. Human gene for physical performance Nature 1998 393: 221–222
Gayagay G, Yu B, Hambly B et al. Elite endurance athletes and the ACE I allele–the role of genes in athletic performance Hum Genet 1998 103: 48–50
Jelakovic B, Kuzmanic D, Milicic D et al. Influence of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism and circadian blood pressure (BP) changes on left ventricle (LV) mass in competitive oarsmen Am J Hypertens 2000 13: 182A
Alvarez R, Terrados N, Ortolano R et al. Genetic variation in the renin-angiotensin system and athletic performance Eur J Appl Physiol 2000 82: 117–120
Woods D, Hickman M, Jamshidi Y et al. Elite swimmers and the D allele of the ACE I/D polymorphism Hum Genet 2001 108: 230–232
Taylor RR, Mamotte CDS, Fallon K, Bockxmeer FM . Elite athletes and the gene for angiotensin-converting enzyme J Appl Physiol 1999 87: 1035–1037
Karjalainen J, Kujala UM, Stolt A et al. Angiotensinogen Gene M235T polymorphism predicts left ventricular hypertrophy in endurance athletes J Am Coll Cardiol 1999 34: 494–499
Rankinen T, Wolfarth B, Simoneau J et al. No association between the angiotensin-converting enzyme ID polymorphism and elite endurance athlete status J Appl Physiol 2000 88: 1571–1575
Bolla MK, Haddad L, Humphries SE, Winder AF, Day INM . A method for determination of hundreds of APOE genotypes utilising highly simplified, optimised protocols and restriction digestion analysis by microtitre array diagonal gel electrophoresis (MADGE) Clin Chem 1995 41: 1599–1604
O'Dell SD, Humphries SE, Day INM . Rapid methods for population-scale analysis for gene polymorphisms: the ACE gene as an example Br Heart J 1995 73: 368–371
Montgomery HE, Clarkson P, Dollery CM et al. Association of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene I/D polymorphism with change in left ventricular mass in response to physical training Circulation 1997 96: 741–747
Rankinen T, Perusse L, Gagnon J et al. Angiotensin-converting enzyme ID polymorphism and fitness phenotype in the HERITAGE Family Study J Appl Physiol 2000 88: 1029–1035
Folland J, Leach B, Little T et al. Angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype affects the response of human skeletal muscle to functional overload Exp Physiol 2000 85: 575–579
Brown NJ, Blais C, Gandhi SK, Adam A . ACE Insertion/Deletion Genotype Affects Bradykinin Metabolism J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1998 32: 373–377
Liu Y, Leri A, Li B et al. Angiotensin II stimulation in vitro induces hypertrophy of normal and postinfarcted ventricular myocytes Circ Res 1998 82: 1145–1159
Murphey LJ, Gainer JV, Vaughan DE, Brown NJ . Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism modulates the human in vivo metabolism of bradykinin Circulation 2000 102: 829–832
Linz W, Scholkens BA . A specific B2-bradykinin receptor antagonist HOE 140 abolishes the antihypertrophic effect of ramipril Br J Pharmacol 1992 105: 771–772
Woods DR, Humphries SE, Montgomery HE . The ACE I/D Polymorphism and Human Physical Performance Trends Endocrinol Metab 2000 11: 416–420
Williams AG, Rayson MP, Jubb M et al. The ACE gene and muscle performance Nature 2000 403: 614
Montgomery H, Clarkson P, Barnard M et al. Angiotensin-converting-enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and response to physical training Lancet 1999 353: 541–545
Tomilin NV, Iguchi-Ariga SM, Ariga H . Transcription and replication silencer element is present within conserved region of human Alu repeats interacting with nuclear protein FEBS Lett 1990 263: 69–72
Tomilin NV . Control of genes by mammalian retroposons Int Rev Cytol 1999 186: 1–48
Rieder MJ, Taylor SL, Clark AG, Nickerson DA . Sequence variation in the human angiotensin converting enzyme Nat Genet 1999 22: 59–62
McKenzie CA, Julier C, Forrester T et al. Segregation and linkage analysis of serum angiotensin I-converting enzyme levels: evidence for two quantitative trait loci Am J Hum Genet 1995 57: 1426–1435
Jeunemaitre X, Lifton RP, Hunt SC, Williams RR, Lalouel JM . Absence of linkage between the angiotensin converting enzyme locus and essential hypertension Nat Genet 1992 1: 72–75
Messerli FH, Nowaczynski W, Honda M et al. Effects of angiotensin II on steroid metabolism and hepatic blood flow in man Circ Res 1977 40: 204–207
Coiro V, Volpi R, Capretti L et al. Stimulation of ACTH and GH release by angiotensin II in normal men is mediated by the AT1 receptor subtype Regul Pept 1998 74: 27–30
Acknowledgements
We thank Valentina Saburova for technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from the Russian Fund for Basic Research 00-04-04003, 01-04-49486.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nazarov, I., Woods, D., Montgomery, H. et al. The angiotensin converting enzyme I/D polymorphism in Russian athletes. Eur J Hum Genet 9, 797–801 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200711
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200711
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Robust arm and leg muscle adaptation to training despite ACE inhibition: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
European Journal of Applied Physiology (2023)
-
Genetics and sports performance: the present and future in the identification of talent for sports based on DNA testing
European Journal of Applied Physiology (2022)
-
The ACE and ACTN3 polymorphisms in female soccer athletes
Genes and Environment (2021)
-
Association of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups J and K with low response in exercise training among Finnish military conscripts
BMC Genomics (2021)
-
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion gene polymorphism across ethnicity: a narrative review of performance gene
Sport Sciences for Health (2021)