Association of ACE I/D and AGTR1 A1166C Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Uterine Leiomyoma: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Objective: Uterine leiomyoma (UL) can be considered as the most common benign gynecological tumors of the smooth muscle cells in the myometrium. They are likely to be associated with infertility and recurrent abortion as well as obstructed labor and post-partum hemorrhage. Moreover, altered vascular-related genes can be linked to developing leiomyoma. Polymorphisms of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene are associated with some vascular diseases. The present study was carried out to investigate the association of ACE I/D and AGTR1 A1166C gene polymorphisms and the risk of uterine leiomyoma in a sample of Iranian population. Methods: The study was carried out on a total of 413 women divided into 202 patients with diagnosed uterine leiomyomas and a control group of 211. Genotyping was performed using the PCR or PCR-RFLP methods. Results: The ID and DD genotypes of ACE I/D polymorphism were associated with 2 and 2.9 fold higher risk of UL compared to II genotype (OR, 2 [95% CI, 1.3 to 3.2]; P = 0.004 and OR, 2.9 [95% CI, 1.6 to 5]; P = 0.0002). The frequencies of ACE D alleles were 53.7% in women with UL and 40.3% in controls, which were observed to be statistically different (P < 0.0001). The alleles and genotypes of AGTR1 A1166C polymorphism were not different between UL and control women (P=0.9). Conclusion: The ACE ID and DD genotypes were associated with a higher risk of UL. No relationship was found between AGTR1 A1166C polymorphism and UL.