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ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D gene variants influence performance in elite sprinters: a multi-cohort study

  • Ioannis D. Papadimitriou
  • , Alejandro Lucia
  • , Yannis P. Pitsiladis
  • , Vladimir P. Pushkarev
  • , Dmitry A. Dyatlov
  • , Evgeniy F. Orekhov
  • , Guilherme G. Artioli
  • , João Paulo L.F. Guilherme
  • , Antonio H. Lancha Jr
  • , Valentina Ginevičiene
  • , Pawel Cieszczyk
  • , Agnieszka Maciejewska-Karlowska
  • , Marek Sawczuk
  • , Carlos A. Muniesa
  • , Anastasia Kouvatsi
  • , Myosotis Massidda
  • , Carla Maria Calò
  • , Fleur Garton
  • , Peter J. Houweling
  • , Guan Wang
  • Krista Austin, Anastasiya M. Druzhevskaya, Irina V. Astratenkova, Ildus I. Ahmetov, David J. Bishop, Kathryn N. North, Nir Eynon*
*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    126 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: To date, studies investigating the association between ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D gene variants and elite sprint/power performance have been limited by small cohorts from mixed sport disciplines, without quantitative measures of performance. 

    Aim: To examine the association between these variants and sprint time in elite athletes. 

    Methods: We collected a total of 555 best personal 100-, 200-, and 400-m times of 346 elite sprinters in a large cohort of elite Caucasian or African origin sprinters from 10 different countries. Sprinters were genotyped for ACTN3 R577X and ACE ID variants. 

    Results: On average, male Caucasian sprinters with the ACTN3 577RR or the ACE DD genotype had faster best 200-m sprint time than their 577XX (21.19 ± 0.53 s vs. 21.86 ± 0.54 s, p = 0.016) and ACE II (21.33 ± 0.56 vs. 21.93 ± 0.67 sec, p = 0.004) counterparts and only one case of ACE II, and no cases of ACTN3 577XX, had a faster 200-m time than the 2012 London Olympics qualifying (vs. 12 qualified sprinters with 577RR or 577RX genotype). Caucasian sprinters with the ACE DD genotype had faster best 400-m sprint time than their ACE II counterparts (46.94 ± 1.19 s vs. 48.50 ± 1.07 s, p = 0.003). Using genetic models we found that the ACTN3 577R allele and ACE D allele dominant model account for 0.92 % and 1.48 % of sprint time variance, respectively. 

    Conclusions: Despite sprint performance relying on many gene variants and environment, the % sprint time variance explained by ACE and ACTN3 is substantial at the elite level and might be the difference between a world record and only making the final.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number285
    Number of pages8
    JournalBMC Genomics
    Volume17
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 13 Apr 2016

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    User-Defined Keywords

    • ACTN3
    • ACE
    • Genomics
    • Athletic performance
    • Exercise
    • Athletes
    • Sprint
    • α-actinin-3

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