RESUMEN

Circulating angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels are influenced by a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) that maps to the ACE gene. Phylogenetic and measured haplotype analyses have suggested that the ACE-linked QTL lies downstream of a putative ancestral breakpoint located near to position 6435. However, strong linkage disequilibrium between markers in the 3' portion of the gene has prevented further resolution of the QTL in Caucasian subjects. We have examined 10 ACE gene polymorphisms in Afro-Caribbean families recruited in JAMAICA: Variance components analyses showed strong evidence of linkage and association to circulating ACE levels. When the linkage results were contrasted with those from a set of British Caucasian families, there was no evidence for heterogeneity between the samples. However, patterns of allelic association between the markers and circulating ACE levels differed significantly in the two data sets. In the British families, three markers [G2215A, Alu insertion/deletion and G2350A] were in complete disequilibrium with the ACE-linked QTL. In the Jamaican families, only marker G2350A showed strong but incomplete disequilibrium with the ACE-linked QTL. These results suggest that additional unobserved polymorphisms have an effect on circulating ACE levels in Jamaican families. Furthermore, our results show that a variance components approach combined with structured, quantitative comparisons between families from different ethnic groups may be a useful strategy for helping to determine which, if any, variants in a small genomic region directly influence a quantitative trait.

Asunto(s)

Peptidil-Dipeptidasa A/genética , Carácter Cuantitativo Heredable , Población Negra/genética , Mapeo Cromosómico , Femenino , Ligamiento Genético , Marcadores Genéticos , Genotipo , Haplotipos/genética , Humanos , Jamaica , Desequilibrio de Ligamiento , Masculino , Modelos Biológicos , Peptidil-Dipeptidasa A/sangre , Polimorfismo Genético , Población Blanca/genética

Asunto(s)

Pruebas Genéticas , Hiperaldosteronismo/genética , Frecuencia de los Genes , Glucocorticoides/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Hiperaldosteronismo/tratamiento farmacológico , Hipertensión/genética , Jamaica , Mutación , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Esteroide 11-beta-Hidroxilasa/genética

RESUMEN

Human serum angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels vary substantially between individuals and are highly heritable. Segregation analysis in European families has shown that more than half of the total variability in ACE levels is influenced by quantitative-trait loci (QTL). One of these QTLs is located within or close to the ACE locus itself. Combined segregation/linkage analysis in a series of African Caribbean families from Jamaica shows that the ACE insertion-deletion polymorphism is in moderate linkage disequilibrium with an ACE-linked QTL. Linkage analysis with a highly informative polymorphism at the neighboring growth-hormone gene (GH) shows surprisingly little support for linkage (LOD score [Z] = 0.12). An extended analysis with a two-QTL model, where an ACE-linked QTL interacts additively with an unlinked QTL, significantly improves both the fit of the model (P = .002) and the support for linkage between the ACe-linked QTL interacts additively with an unlinked QTL, significantly improves both the fit of the model (P = .002) and the support for linkage between the ACe-linked QTL and GH polymorphism (Z = 5.0). We conclude that two QTLs jointly influence serum ACE levels in this population. One QTL is located within or close to the ACE locus and explains 27% of the total variability; the second QTL is unlinked to the ACE locus and explains 52% of the variability. The identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying both QTLs is necessary in order to interpret the role of ACE in cardiovascular disease.

Asunto(s)

Ligamiento Genético , Hipertensión/genética , Peptidil-Dipeptidasa A/genética , Análisis de Varianza , Presión Sanguínea/fisiología , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Genotipo , Humanos , Hipertensión/sangre , Hipertensión/fisiopatología , Jamaica , Peptidil-Dipeptidasa A/sangre

RESUMEN

Human serum angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels vary substantially between individuals and are highly heritable. Segregation analysis in European families has shown that more than half of the total variability in ACE levels is influenced by quantitative-trait loci (QTL). One of these QTLs is located within or close to the ACE locus itself. Combined segretation/linkage analysis in a series of African Caribbean families from Jamaica shows that the ACE insertion-deletion polymorphism is in moderate linkage disequilibrium with an ACE-linked QTL. Linkage analysis with a highly informative polymorphism at the neighbouring growth-hormone gene (GH) shows surprisingly little support for linkage (LOD score [Z] = 0.12). An extended analysis with a two-QTL model, where an ACE-linked QTL interacts additively with an unlinked QTL, significantly improves both the fit of the model (P = .002) and the support for linkage between the ACE-linked QTL and GH polymorphism (Z = 5.0). We conclude that two QTLs jointly influence serum ACE levels in this population. One QTL is located within or close to the ACE locus and explains 27 per cent of the total variability; the second QTL is unlinked to the locus and explains 52 per cent of the variability. The identification of the molecular mechanisms underlying both QTLs is necessary in order to interpret the role of ACE in cardiovascular disease (AU)