Document Type : Original Article (s)
                            
                        
                                                    Authors
                            
                                                            
                                                                            1
                                                                        Student of Pharmacy, Students' Research Committee, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran                                
                                                            
                                                                            2
                                                                        Professor, Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran                                
                                                            
                                                                            3
                                                                        Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran                                
                                                            
                                                                            4
                                                                        Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran                                
                                                            
                                                                            5
                                                                        Associate Professor, Isfahan Clinical Toxicology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran                                
                            
                                                
                        
                            Abstract
                            Background: The relation between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and cardiovascular diseases was reported previously but the role of this polymorphism and the occlusion of vein grafts in long-term post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery still has remained controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate any probable relationship between ACE I/D polymorphism and the atherosclerotic occlusion of vein grafts. Methods: Patients who undergone CABG surgery more than five years ago, participated in this cross-sectional study. Occlusion of vein graft was determined by angiography. The ACE I/D polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based restriction analysis. Findings: A total of 102 patients (84 males) were enrolled to the study. The frequency distribution of DD, ID, and II polymorphisms were 23.6%, 62.7%, and 13.7%, respectively. There were no differences among genotypic groups regarding the number of occluded, diseased, and atherosclerosis-free vein grafts (P = 0.6, 0.7, and 0.18, respectively). Patients with II genotype had the same number of completely occluded vein grafts in a marginally significant shorter time after CABG (P = 0.06) compared with the other groups. Conclusion: Although the results of our study indicated no association of ACE I/D polymorphisms and the occlusion of vein grafts long-term post-CABG, ACE II genotype may accelerate the rate of occlusion in vein grafts. Keywords: INDEL mutation, Angiotensin converting enzyme, Coronary artery bypass, Vascular graft occlusion