Deletion Allele of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme is Associated with Increased Risk and Severity of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

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. 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. Infants with DD/DI genotype of ACE had a (mean ± SD) birth weight (938 ± 204 g vs 925 ± 196 g) and gestational age (28 ± 3 weeks vs 28 ± 2 weeks), similar to infants with II 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). The D allele of ACE is associated with an increased risk and severity of BPD among preterm infants.