The ACE gene, known to be associated with cardiovascular disorders, which in turn are accompanied with an increased susceptibility for depression, is therefore a promising candidate gene for affective disorders.
The angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene (ACE) has been repeatedly suggested as a major gene affecting affective disorders and their treatment, but the study results have been ambiguous so far.
The ACE model encourages researchers to characterise patients from a number of equally important perspectives and, by doing so, add specificity to the treatment of mood disorders.
The markers were genotyped across EDN1 and ACE in a sample comprised of 382 Hungarian nuclear families ascertained through affected probands diagnosed with a mood disorders before the age of 15.
These results do not support the ACE gene having a major role in the etiology of either bipolar or unipolar affective disorders.Am.J. Med.Genet.(Neuropsychiatr.Genet.)96:733-735, 2000.
These results suggest that the ACE I/D polymorphism is one of the genetic factors for an interindividual variability of brain SP levels, and that the ACE polymorphism may contribute to the susceptibility to affective disorders.