Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in a Moroccan population: allele frequency and relation to plasma lipid concentrations

To date, no data are available on relationship between apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism and lipid levels in Moroccan population. The present work reports an apo E polymorphism repartition in Moroccan population and relationship between this polymorphism and the levels of plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, apo A1, B and E. Blood samples from 168 healthy Moroccan individuals from Rabat area (90 men and 78 women), aged from 20 to 50 years (32 9 years), were analysed for serum apo E, A1 and B, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. In parallel, genotyping by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was performed. The apo E allelic frequencies were 11% for epsilon4, 84% for epsilon3 and 5% for epsilon2. There were correlation between apo E alleles and serum lipid concentrations, E2/E3 carriers had significantly higher level of apo E than E3/E3, and E4/E3 carriers had significantly higher total cholesterol apo B and triglycerides than E3/E3 and E2/E3 carriers. The total cholesterol and apo B concentrations are significantly higher in women than in men but the triglycerides are lower. The apo A1 concentration is independent of both sex and apo E genotype. Thus, the results demonstrate an influence of apo E alleles on serum cholesterol, triglycerides, apo E and apo B concentrations among healthy Moroccan.