APOE E4 is associated with hyperlipidemia and obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients

Abstract

Obesity is a critical issue in patients with schizophrenia, which is considered to be brought about by both environmental and genetic factors. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, however, the effect of APOE gene polymorphism on obesity has never been investigated in Chinese aging with schizophrenia. This cross-sectional study was to investigate the effect of obesity on cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in elderly participants with schizophrenia. At the same time, we also discussed the inner link between APOE E4 and obesity. 301 elderly participants with schizophrenia and 156 normal controls were included in the study. Their cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and APOE gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prevalence of obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients and healthy controls accounted for 15.9% (48/301) and 10.3% (16/156), respectively, with no statistically significant difference. By using stepwise linear regression analysis, we found that elevated fasting blood glucose, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were risk factors for obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients. Although there was no direct correlation between APOE E4 and obesity in patients with schizophrenia, it was significantly correlated with hyperlipemia(r = − 0.154, p = 0.008), suggesting that APOE E4 may induce obesity in elderly patients with schizophrenia through hyperlipemia, However, the above conclusions do not apply to the normal elderly. What’s more, we did not find a link between obesity and cognitive function or mental symptoms for both patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. APOE E4 is associated with hyperlipidemia in elderly schizophrenic patients, which may be a risk factor for obesity, however, the above conclusion does not apply to the normal elderly.

Exploration on the potential efficacy and mechanism of methyl salicylate glycosides in the treatment of schizophrenia based on bioinformatics, molecular docking and dynamics simulation

“…Currently, de novo mutations of KCNA2 gene, have been confirmed to cause a new molecular entity within the epileptic encephalopathies, which could cause either a dominant-negative loss-of-function or a gain-of-function of the voltage-gated K + channel KCNA2 55 . It was assayed that APOE (apolipoprotein E) gene polymorphisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of SCZ 56 . APOE is associated with metabolic processes in the brain and plays a critical role in the synapse, affecting on lipid homeostasis, myelin maintenance and integrity, making it an attractive candidate in the pathogenesis of SCZ 57 , 58 .…”

Increased ApoE Expression in Follicular Fluid and the ApoE Genotype Are Associated With Endometriosis in Chinese Women

“…ApoE3 contains a cysteine residue at position 112 and an arginine residue at position 158 (E3=Cys112/Arg158), whereas ApoE2 has cysteine residues at both positions (E2=Cys112/Cys158), and ApoE4 contains arginine residues at both sites (E4=Arg112/Arg158) ( 13 ). ApoE-ϵ4 is a risk factor for a variety of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) ( 14 ), cardiovascular disease ( 15 ), and hyperlipidemia ( 16 ). ApoE is a major source of cholesterol precursors for the synthesis of ovarian estrogen and progesterone ( 13 ), and a relationship between the serum estrogen level and ApoE exists in human ovarian follicular fluid (FF) ( 17 ), which suggests that ApoE might play an important role in the ovary.…”