• Robert Kieszko, Paweł Krawczyk, Tomasz Powrózek, Aneta Szudy-Szczyrek, Michał Szczyrek, Iwona Homa, Jadwiga Daniluk, and Janusz Milanowski.
• Department of Pneumonology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
• Arch Med Sci. 2016 Dec 1; 12 (6): 126312721263-1272.

IntroductionSarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Current theory on the etiology of this disease involves participation of genetic factors and unknown antigens present in the patients' environment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of different polymorphic forms of the ACE gene in healthy individuals and sarcoidosis patients, and to estimate the risk of sarcoidosis in carriers of different ACE genotypes living in rural and urban settings.Material And MethodsThe study group included 180 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Assessment of the disease was based on clinical features, laboratory and imaging examinations, as well as bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). ACE gene polymorphism was examined in DNA isolated from peripheral blood or BAL fluid (BALF) leukocytes.ResultsIncidence of sarcoidosis was not influenced by gender, age or place of residence of the patients. There were no differences in the frequency of particular genotypes in patients with sarcoidosis and in healthy individuals. The risk of disease did not depend on the ACE gene polymorphism. There were no differences in the frequencies of the different genotypes and alleles of the ACE gene in patients with sarcoidosis divided by gender, age and place of residence or by clinical manifestation of sarcoidosis.ConclusionsOur results do not support the previous concept which suggested a higher incidence of sarcoidosis in individuals living in rural areas and in carriers of selected ACE genotypes. It is possible that this is related to the changing environment of rural areas, increasing urbanization and pollution.

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