No association between the angiotensin-converting enzyme ID polymorphism and elite endurance athlete status

Abstract

Several studies have reported that the insertion (I) allele of the angiotensin-converting enzyme ( ACE) I/deletion (D) polymorphism is associated with enhanced responsiveness to endurance training and is more common in endurance athletes than in sedentary controls. We tested the latter hypothesis in a cohort of 192 male endurance athletes with maximal oxygen uptake ≥75 ml ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1and 189 sedentary male controls. The ACE ID polymorphism in intron 16 was typed with the three-primer polymerase chain reaction method. Both the genotype ( P = 0.214) and allele ( P = 0.095) frequencies were similar in the athletes and the controls. Further analyses in the athletes revealed no excess of the I allele among the athletes within the highest quartile (> 80 ml ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) or decile (>83 ml ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) of maximal oxygen uptake. These data from the GENATHLETE cohort do not support the hypothesis that the ACE ID polymorphism is associated with a higher cardiorespiratory endurance performance level.

Differential response to resistance training in CHF according to ACE genotype

“…Crosssectional studies have reported the ACE I allele to be associated with enhanced endurance exercise performance in endurance athletes (10,11) and congestive heart failure patients (12). However, other studies have found no relationship (13) , or a lower endurance performance in individuals with the I allele (14). Few studies have 4 investigated the effect of ACE genotype on the response to exercise training over time.…”

ACE gene, physical activity, and physical fitness

“…Thus evidence suggests that the D allele might predispose an individual to successful performance in particular sporting events. Although we acknowledge that there is some important contradictory evidence (10,11), there is also considerable evidence associating the I allele with certain endurance phenotypes (5,12,13) and with elite endurance status (3,7,8). Hence, evidence suggests that the I allele, in addition to the D allele, might predispose an individual to successful performance in particular sporting events.…”

Association of Genetic Factors With Selected Measures of Physical Performance

“…[13][14][15] Taylor and colleagues 14 investigated 120 white Australian national athletes from several different sporting disciplines classified as requiring a high level of aerobic fitness; they found no difference in the ACE genotype and allele frequency between this group and the control group that was recruited randomly from the community. Similarly, Karjalainen and colleagues 13 studied 80 long-distance runners, orienteers and crosscountry skiers, and triathletes from the Finnish national teams and found no significant association among the athletes with regard to the ACE I/D polymorphism.…”

“…15 The authors 15 concluded that these data suggested that the ACE I/D polymorphism may not be associated with increased cardiorespiratory endurance performance.…”