The association of genetic variants in apolipoprotein E with blood lipids and carotid atherosclerosis

Objective To investigate the association of polymorphism in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) with blood lipids and carotid atherosclerosis (CAS). Methods Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was performed to analyze the genotypes of apolipoprotein E in 103 patients with CAS and 108 healthy subjects. The blood lipids were also measured in patients and controls. Results In CAS group,the frequencies of E2/2, E2/3, E2/4, E3/3, E3/4, E4/4 genotypes ande2,e3,e4 alleles for ApoE gene were 0%, 11.7%, 1.9%, 47.6%, 35.6%, 2.9% and 5.8%, 66.0%, 28.2% respectively;and those of healthy controls were 2.8%, 16.7%, 0.9%, 65.7%, 13.9%, 0% and 9.3%, 82.4%, 8.3%, the differences between two groups were statistically significant (P0.05). Compared with control group, the frequencies of E3/4 genotype ande4 allele were higher,and those of E3/3 genotype and e3 allele were lower in CAS group (both P0.05=. Conclusion Polymorphisms of ApoE gene might be a risk factor for CAS.