Association of APOE polymorphisms with lipid-lowering efficacy of statins in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is a promising candidate for the diagnosis of hyperlipoproteinaemia and atherosclerosis. Polymorphisms in APOE have been reported to result in differential efficacies of statins in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Method: We classified APOE genotypes of 225 patients treated with atorvastatin and analysed the relationship between genotypes and blood lipid levels. Results: The baseline levels of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly lower in APOE ε4 than APOE ε3 carriers. Levels of TC and LDL-C decreased significantly after 1 month of atorvastatin treatment. Statins have a higher significant effect in reducing TC and LDL-C levels in APOE ε4 genotype. Conclusion: Polymorphism in APOE is related to the efficacy of atorvastatin in reducing the levels of TC and LDL-C. Keywords: Apolipoprotein E, lipid-lowering efficacy, polymorphism, statin, total cholesterol

Association of Drug-Metabolizing Enzyme and Transporter Gene Polymorphisms and Lipid-Lowering Response to Statins in Thai Patients with Dyslipidemia

“…Polymorphisms of genes that involve in the regulation of lipid metabolisms such as apolipoprotein E (apo E), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), and liver X receptors (LXR) have been reported to correlate with the efficacy of statin and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Several studies have revealed that the genetic variants of the pharmacokinetics-related genes result in the diversity of statin efficacy among individuals. [12][13][14] Since statins have the primary site of action and metabolism in the liver, where they inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, the genetic variations of Phase I and II drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporter genes may have a critical role in the concentration of statins within hepatocytes and plasma, and consequently clinical efficacy to the treatment of statin.…”