Abstract: o clarify whether angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE)insertion(I)/deletion(D)gene polymorphism attributes to the development of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM)and diabetic retinopathy. A fragment of 287 bp Alu sequence in inron 16 of ACE gene was used as I/D polymorphic marker. After PCR(polymerase chain reaction)amplication of DNA fragment, 1% agarose gel electrophoresis was undertaken to analyse the PCR products. Results: There was no significant difference in the frequency of ACE genotypes between 87 NIDDM patients and 50 normal subjects. There was no significant difference in the insertion(I)and deletion(D)alleles or frequencies of DD, DI, or II genotypes between two subgroups of NIDDM patients with and without diabetic retinopathy respectively(P<0.02). These results suggested that there was no association between ACE gene polymorphism and diabetic retinopathy.

Key words: diabetic retinopathy, noninsulin diabetes mellitus, ACE gene