The Effect of apoM Polymorphism Associated with HDL Metabolism on Obese Korean Adults

Abstract

Background: Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is a recently identified apolipoprotein associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in coronary artery disease (CAD), but the association between apoM polymorphism and obesity has not been reported. Aim: To investigate the association between apoM polymorphism and obesity prevalence in 584 Korean adults. Methods: A total of 584 individuals aged between 30 and 80 years were recruited from Yonsei Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, and divided into obese (OB; body mass index, BMI ≥25) and nonobese (non-OB; BMI <25) groups. Anthropometric variables, lipid profiles, insulin-resistant profiles, reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) enzymes, HDL subfraction, and apoM polymorphism were determined. Results: In OB with T-855C polymorphism, TT genotype carriers significantly showed 6.2% higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP), 1.3% lower amount of HDL2b subfraction, and 19.7% higher lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) mass than TC+CC carriers. OB subjects with the T allele of T-778C polymorphism significantly demonstrated 43% higher plasma insulin, 17.7% higher total cholesterol, 26.7% higher triglyceride, 40.7% higher leptin, 1.6% lower HDL2b, and 12.6% higher LCAT mass than those with the C allele. These results were reversed in non-OB with T-778C polymorphism regarding HDL subfractions and RCT enzymes. Conclusion: apoM T-855C and T-778C polymorphisms were found to be associated with obesity by regulating HDL metabolism, and the T alleles of apoM T-778C were shown to be more strongly correlated.

Correlation Between Apolipoprotein M and Inflammatory Factors in Obese Patients

“…Therefore, ApoM might play an essential role in HDL metabolism [ 1 ]. Some other studies also proved that ApoM polymorphism was associated with HDL metabolism in obese patients [ 2 ]. Our study showed a significant decline in plasmatic ApoM and HDL-C levels in obese patients, and the plasmatic ApoM level was positively correlated with HDL-C level, which might indicate that, as an important apolipoprotein of HDL, the decreased level of ApoM due to its abnormal metabolism, might contribute in the decreased level of HDL-C in obese patients.…”

“…High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level is often detected as decreased in obese patients, but the mechanism is still unclear. Apolipoprotein M (ApoM), a newly identified apolipoprotein, has been reported to play an important role in the metabolism of HDL-C [ 1 , 2 ]. The ApoM gene is located in the MHC-III region of many inflammatory-related genes.…”

“…The ApoM gene is located in the MHC-III region of many inflammatory-related genes. Moreover, ApoM and its ligand sphingosine 1-phospate (S1P) exert important anti-inflammatory effects on HDL-C [ 2 ], which is a negative acute response protein during infection and inflammation. Additionally, obesity is a chronic inflammatory disease worldwide [ 3 ].…”

Insulin Resistance in Apolipoprotein M Knockout Mice is Mediated by the Protein Kinase Akt Signaling Pathway

“…Notably, apoM has been deemed an important component of rare adipokines associated with healthy metabolic status [ 18 ]. APOM gene polymorphism is also related to the metabolism of HDL in obese Korean male adults [ 20 ]. The aforementioned studies have shown that apoM may play a causative role in insulin sensitivity.…”

A Novel Perspective on the ApoM-S1P Axis, Highlighting the Metabolism of ApoM and Its Role in Liver Fibrosis and Neuroinflammation

“…The corresponding apoM gene resides on chromosome 6 in the major histocompatibility complex class III region in humans and consists of a ~2 kb promoter sequence, 6 exons and 5 introns. To date, 5 SNPs in the apoM promoter region and 2 SNPs in the open reading frame (intron 5) are reported and associated with an altered lipid profile and various diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or cardio vascular disease [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”