A dominant relationship between the ACE D allele and serum ACE levels in a Ghanaian population

Editor—The ACE gene has a 287 bp Alu insertion in intron 16.1 The presence (I) or absence (D) of this insertion produces three population genotypes, II, ID, and DD. The D allele has been proposed as an indicator of cardiovascular risk in several studies,2-4 although this was not supported in a large study on US physicians.5There is a codominant relationship between ACE ID genotype and serum ACE levels in white populations, with the D allele associated with increased levels.1 It is not clear whether a similar relationship exists in black populations. One report showed no difference in serum ACE levels between the different I/D genotypic groups in American blacks.6 Two others, both on the Jamaican population,7 8 suggested an important impact of the D allele. It is possible that the black populations reported could have a genetic contribution from other ethnic groups. We therefore examined a Ghanaian population, where African descent was known back to the grandparental generation, to see if any relationship existed between ACE polymorphism status and circulating serum ACE levels. There were 97 subjects, 70 males and 27 females. The mean age (SD, range) was 26.2 (4.9, 22-45) for males and 28 (7.2, 22-51) for females. None were on ACE inhibitors …