Influence of the Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism on Plasma Lipoproteins in a Mexican Population

Document Type

Article

Authors

Ricardo Gamboa, The contribution by Ricardo Gamboa and Gilberto Vargas-Alarcón is equal and the order of authorship is arbitrary., Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
Gilberto Vargas-Alarcón, The contribution by Ricardo Gamboa and Gilberto Vargas-Alarcón is equal and the order of authorship is arbitrary., Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
Aida Medina-Urrutia, Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
Guillermo Cardosa-Saldaña, Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
Guadalupe Hérnandez-Pacheco, Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
José Zamora-González, Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.
Carlos Posadas-Romero, Physiology and Endocrinology Departments, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez,” México, D.F., México.

Abstract

The influence of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes on plasma lipid levels was determined in 278 Mexican individuals. The most frequent genotype was E3/3 (80.5%) followed by E3/4 (12.5%), E2/3 (5.0%), E2/4 (1.4%), and E4/4 (0.3%). Our data are similar to those previously described for Mexican-American and American Indian populations, which show the highest frequency worldwide of the APOE*3 and the E3/3 genotype. Compared to female carriers of the E3/3 genotype, women with the E3/4 genotype presented increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (117 ± 28.0 mg/dL vs. 134.0 ± 31.7 mg/dL, p < 0.05), and total cholesterol (179.4 ± 33.4 mg/dL vs. 197.5 ± 35.4 mg/dL, p < 0.01). Also, we detected increased high-density lipoprotein concentrations in women with the E2/3 genotype (53.7 ± 19.5 mg/dL) when compared to women with the E3/3 genotype (45.2 ± 12.0 mg/dL) ( p < 0.032). Our data suggest that genetic variation at the APOE locus in the Mexican population is a genetic factor that influences plasma lipid levels. This effect was observed only in the female population. Additional studies attempting to correlate APOE polymorphism with plasma lipid profile in a large number of individuals would be helpful in establishing the true significance of this polymorphism in the Mexican population.

Recommended Citation

Gamboa, Ricardo; Vargas-Alarcón, Gilberto; Medina-Urrutia, Aida; Cardosa-Saldaña, Guillermo; Hérnandez-Pacheco, Guadalupe; Zamora-González, José; and Posadas-Romero, Carlos (2001) "Influence of the Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism on Plasma Lipoproteins in a Mexican Population," Human Biology: Vol. 73: Iss. 6, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol73/iss6/5