APOE polymorphism is associated with lipid profile, but not with arterial stiffness in the general population

Abstract

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main cause of death and disability in developed countries. In most cases, the progress of CVD is influenced by environmental factors and multifactorial inheritance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between APOE genotypes, cardiovascular risk factors, and a non-invasive measure of arterial stiffness in the Brazilian population.MethodsA total of 1493 urban Brazilian individuals were randomly selected from the general population of the Vitoria City Metropolitan area. Genetic analysis of the APOE polymorphism was conducted by PCR-RFLP and pulse wave velocity analyzed with a noninvasive automatic device.ResultsAge, gender, body mass index, triglycerides, creatinine, uric acid, blood glucose, blood pressure phenotypes were no different between ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles. The ε4 allele was associated with higher total-cholesterol (p < 0.001), LDL-C (p < 0.001), total-cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), LDL/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), lower HDL-C values (p < 0.001) and higher risk to obesity (OR = 1.358, 95% CI = 1.019-1.811) and hyperuricemia (OR = 1.748, 95% CI = 1.170-2.611). Nevertheless, pulse wave velocity (p = 0.66) measures were no different between genotypes. The significant association between APOE genotypes and lipid levels persisted after a 5-year follow-up interval, but no interaction between time and genotype was observed for lipids longitudinal behavior.ConclusionThe ε4 allele of the APOE gene is associated with a worse lipid profile in the Brazilian urban population. In our relatively young sample, the observed effect of APOE genotype on lipid levels was not translated into significant effects in arterial wall stiffness.

Aerobic fitness modulates the association between APOE genotypes and serum lipemia in adolescents

“…The probability of elevated LDL cholesterol ranged from 10% to 44% among adolescents carrying ε4 allele compared to the other alleles and was 30% higher in ε3 than ε2 carriers (Table 2). Similar findings have been reported for adults (Alvim et al, 2010), suggesting that allele ε2 protects against an atherogenic lipemic profile. Considering the level of aerobic fitness, the probability of elevated LDL cholesterol was only higher among adolescents with adequate aerobic fitness carrying ε4 allele (15% to 48%) when compared to the other groups, and among those carrying ε3 allele (30%) when compared to those carrying ε2 allele (Table 3).…”

“…In addition, the probability of elevated TC was 27% and 32% higher among ε3 and ε4 carriers than ε2 carriers ( Table 2). The same has been reported for adults (Alvim et al, 2010), demonstrating that ε2 protects against hypercholesterolemia. Considering the level of aerobic fitness, only adolescents with adequate aerobic fitness benefited from the ε2 lipid-lowering property, resulting in ε3 and ε4 individuals with higher probability (39% to 47%) of elevated TC when compared to ε2 carriers (Table 3).…”

“…This finding agrees with other studies involving adolescents (França, Alves & Hutz, 2004;Nascimento et al, 2009), but disagrees with the studies of Medina-Urrutia et al (2004) and Nghiem et al (2004). In addition, the APOE alleles were not associated with low HDL cholesterol (Table 2), as also observed in adults (Alvim et al, 2010). Only adolescents with adequate aerobic fitness carrying the ε3 and ε4 alleles presented a lower probability (20% to 19%) of low HDL cholesterol than ε2 carriers (Table 3).…”

“…The major alleles are called epsilon two (ε2), three (ε3) and four (ε4) and are important modulators of serum lipemia. In general, individuals carrying the ε2 allele present lower serum concentrations of TC and LDL (Alvim et al, 2010;Bernstein et al, 2002;Corella et al, 2001;França, Alves, & Hutz, 2004;Nghiem et al, 2004) whereas the opposite is observed for those carrying ε4 allele (Bernstein et al, 2002;Corella et al, 2001; Medina-Urrutia, Cardoso-Saldaña, ZamoraGonzález, Liria, & Posadas-Romero, 2004;Nascimento et al, 2009). The association between APOE alleles and lipemia seems to be influenced by physical activity levels.…”

Análisis del polimorfismo del gen APOE en la población de Barranquilla, Colombia

“…Por otro lado, en la población de Cali se reportó una correlación negativa entre los niveles de triglicéridos y el genotipo APOE, pero sí hubo significación estadística en la relación entre el genotipo ε2/ε3 y el nivel de colesterol, en comparación con los genotipos ε3/ε3 y ε3/ ε4 (Rivera-Franco N, Perdomo V, Barreto G. En forma similar, en algunos estudios en Brasil se ha reportado que el alelo ε4 se asociaba en mayor medida con la elevación del colesterol total en la población estudiada (31). Asimismo, en una población de Croacia se determinó que el gen APOE estaba involucrado en la aparición de la obesidad, especialmente el alelo ε2, datos que contradicen los de otros estudios (32).…”