ACE and acute respiratory distress syndrome: More than 40 candidate genes associated with a development of ARDS [9] have been identified, including genes for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), interleukins (IL)-6, and IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, surfactant protein (SP)-B, Fas, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), etc., which are responsible for regulation of vascular permeability, immune response, response to oxidative stress, coagulation, and metabolism in the lung [10,11].