Association of insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene with angio-oedema accompanying chronic urticaria but not chronic urticaria without angio-oedema or the autologous serum skin test response.

Background: Chronic urticaria is defined as the daily or almost daily occurrence of weals for more than 6 weeks. The underlying pathophysiology is reported to be mast cell activation, with release of mast cell mediators, predominantly histamine. Substance P is a neuropeptide and has the capacity to provoke histamine release from skin mast cells. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), widely expressed in skin, is one of the major peptidase for the degradation of substance P. An insertion/deletion polymorphism (I/D) in the ACE gene has been reported to be related to the levels of enzyme.

Objective: An increase in substance P levels due to a polymorphism in ACE gene might be related to the pathology. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether there is an association between ACE I/D polymorphism and chronic ordinary urticaria.

Methods: Ninety-five patients with chronic ordinary urticaria were recruited and divided into two groups according to autologous serum skin test status and accompanying angio-oedema. One hundred and sixty-one healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. All participants were genotyped for I/D polymorphism in intron 16 of the ACE gene by polymerase chain reaction.

Results: A statistically significant association was not found between ACE I/D polymorphism and chronic ordinary urticaria. Further analyses of chronic ordinary urticaria patients showed that ACE I/D polymorphism was not associated with autologous serum skin test status of patients. However, the frequencies of II genotype and I allele were statistically significantly higher in chronic ordinary urticaria patients with accompanying angio-oedema with regard to angio-oedema-negative patients (II genotype: 24% vs. 9%, P = 0.0002; I allele: 58% vs. 27%, P = 0.0001) and control group (II genotype: 24% vs. 19%, P = 0.01; I allele: 58% vs. 41%, P = 0.03).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest no evidence of an association between ACE I/D polymorphism and risk of developing chronic ordinary urticaria. However, it can be a contributing factor to susceptibility of angio-oedema in chronic ordinary urticaria.