It has been suggested that individual variations in human physical performances reflect both environmental factors and genetic element interaction. The report submitted by Montgomery et al. (Nature 393: 221-222, 1998) that, among climbers who had ascended beyond 8,000 m without supplemental inspired oxygen, non was of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) D/D genotype, gave not a few mountaineers a great impact. After that, the study on the influence of the ACE I (insertion)/D (deletion) polymorphism upon physical performance has become popular in the world. Collectively, the current review shows that it seems likely that the I allele is associated with enhanced endurance performance at high altitude as well as at sea level, via a local muscle effect rather than a central cardiorespiratory mechanism, attributable to the reduced angiotensin II and increased bradykinin, and that the D allele is associated with power-oriented athletic performance, via an angiothensin II-mediated increase in muscle growth and strengh, these being more apparent bin elite athletes.
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