First Genetics Association Study of the ACE I/D Polymorphism with Inflammatory Arthropathy Susceptibility in the Western Algerian Population: A Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: Several genetic association studies have investigated Inflammatory Arthropathy (IA), a term used in this study to refer specifically to rheumatoid arthritis classified according to the 1987 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria and the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria. However, limited data are available regarding the role of the Angiotensin‑Converting Enzyme (ACE) Insertion/Deletion (I/D) polymorphism across different populations. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the ACE I/D polymorphism and IA susceptibility in the Western Algerian population Materials and Methods: A total of 101 patients diagnosed with IA and 140 healthy unrelated controls were enrolled. Genotyping of the ACE I/D polymorphism (rs4340) was performed using multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Genotype and allele frequencies were compared between groups, and Odds Ratios (ORs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were calculated using SPSS software.

RESULTS: Our findings indicated a strong risk of IA associated with genotypic distributions of ACE I/D, DD ((OR) = 4(1,02-15.72), p-value = 0.04, as well as the dominant model (ID+DD) (OR) =16,01(1-29), p-value = 0.01, in the development of IA. However, no significant association was observed between ACE I/D genotypes and age in our study.

DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that the ACE I/D polymorphism, particularly the D allele, may contribute to IA susceptibility, possibly through inflammatory pathways involving the renin-angiotensin system.

CONCLUSION: This is the first study in the Algerian population to demonstrate a potential association between the ACE I/D polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis.