Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism studies in Asian Indian pregnant women biochemically identifies gestational diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as glucose intolerance first recognized during pregnancy. Insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of a 287 bp Alu repetitive sequence in intron 16 of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene has been widely investigated in Asian Indian populations with different ethnic origins. The present study examined possible association between I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene and GDM in Asian Indian pregnant women. Methods: A total of 200 pregnant women (100 GDM and 100 non-GDM) were recruited in this study and I/D polymorphism of a 287 bp Alu1 element inside intron 16 of the ACE gene was examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based gel electrophoresis. Result: The distribution of the variants like II, ID, and DD genotypes of ACE gene showed differences between normal GDM versus non-GDM subjects, and the frequency of the ID+ DD Vs II genotype was significant (p=0.0002) in the GDM group. Conclusion: ACE gene polymorphism was associated with GDM in Asian Indian pregnant women.