ACE insertion/deletion genetic polymorphism, serum ACE levels and high dietary salt intake influence the risk of obesity development among the Saudi adult population

Introduction: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which contributes to adipocyte growth, differentiation and function, has recently been linked with both salt metabolism and obesity development. Therefore, this study has aimed to investigate the putative relationship between ACE genetic polymorphism, serum ACE levels and salt consumption on the risk of developing obesity in the Saudi population. Materials and methods: ACE genotype status of 267 adult Saudi volunteers (124 obese and 143 non-obese) was correlated with their serum ACE activity and dietary salt intake amounts. Results: Obesity was more prevalent in deletion-deletion genotype individuals (p<0.03), under dominant, co-dominant and monoallelic conditions (p<0.04). Deletion allele corresponds to serum ACE activity in obese patients (p<0.05). The amount of salt intake (<6 g/d) was significantly associated with obesity and particularly high in deletion-deletion and insertion-deletion genotype carriers (p<0.001). STITCH analysis underlined interactions of the ACE protein with sodium molecule, REN, ACE2, KNG1 and AGTR1 in a biological network. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the positive association between ACE deletion genotype, serum ACE activity and sodium intake with risk of obesity development in the Saudi population.