Abstract
An assessment of the association of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) risk in children is still controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the relation between ACE gene polymorphisms and SRNS susceptibility. The relevant studies were screened from electronic database and eligible investigations were synthesized using meta-analysis methods. Seven investigations were identified for the analysis of association between ACE I/D gene polymorphism and SRNS risk in children, including five in Asians, one in Caucasians, and one in Africans. There was not a markedly positive association between D allele or DD genotype and SRNS susceptibility in Asians (OR = 1.60, p = 0.26; OR = 1.90, p = 0.38) and for Caucasian population (OR = 0.92, p = 0.86; OR = 0.27, p = 0.22). However, an association of D allele with SRNS susceptibility was observed (OR = 4.67, p = 0.003) in Africans, but not for DD genotype (OR = 6.00, p = 0.05). Interestingly, II genotype seemed to play a positive role against SRNS onset for Asians and African children (OR = 0.51, p = 0.02; OR = 0.07, p = 0.02), but not for Caucasians (OR = 0.33, p = 0.30). In conclusion, our results indicate that D allele or DD homozygous might not be a significant genetic molecular marker for the development of SRNS in Asians and Caucasian children. However, D allele seemed be associated with SRNS risk for Africans but DD genotype did not.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the most helpful comments on this article received from Professor Liang Rong, Department of Pediatric-Neonatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.