Frequency Analysis of rs4646994 Polymorphism in Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Gene in Professional Karateka Athletes Compared to the Amateur Athletes and Non-athlete Individuals

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is an exopeptidase, which converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II results in vasoconstriction and aldosterone secretion. Previous studies have indicated that the presence of DD polymorphism in ACE gene is associated with the upregulation in the activity of ACE and incidence of arteriovascular diseases. Based on the previous studies, during 1980-2006 in the United States, among 1866 athletes who died suddenly, 56% were predominantly due to cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the aim of the present study was assessment of the frequency rate of I/D polymorphism in Iranian professional and amateur Karateka and non-athlete individuals as a prognostic factor in prevention of such diseases.
In this survey, 258 athletes including 129 professional Karateka (65 men and 64 women) and 129 amateur Karateka (75 men and 54 women) and 129 non-athlete individuals (71 men and 58 women) took part voluntarily. Blood samples were taken and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP-PCR) performed on the isolated genomes. Statistical analyses carried out using SPSS software and those data with P Findings: Genotyping analyses indicated that allele frequency for DD was 45.5%, ID was 40.8% and II was 13.7% in our studied population (P > 0.050). In professional Karateka, significant increase in DD frequency was observed (63.0%) compared to non-athletes (41.0%) (P = 0.004) and amateur Karateka (14.7%) (P = 0.011).
The greater value for allele frequency of DD polymorphism in professional Karateka suggests the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in this group. This implies the necessity of medical health care for professional athletes.