Genetic variations of the Apo E-CI-CII cluster gene in Koreans

Objectives: To investigate the allele frequencies of the apolipoprotein (apo) E-CI-CII cluster gene in Koreans, and its relation to plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels. Methods: The study subjects consisted of healthy Korean individuals (apo E, 145; apo CI and CII, 81) who were randomly selected via health screening. For polymorphism analysis, DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed to compare the mean of lipid levels among different genotypes. Results: The apo E polymorphism in the Korean population appeared as the E4/2, E3/2, E3/3, E4/3, and E4/4 genotypes. The ε3 allele was the most frequent, as in other populations. The apo E polymorphism showed the lack of association with plasma lipid levels in this population. On the other hand, we demonstrated AvaII polymorphism of the apo CII gene by PCR technique. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels were varied significantly among the AvaII genotypes ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: No effect of the apo E allele on lipid levels was seen in the Korean population. This result suggests that it might be one of the factors in explaining the low prevalence rate of atherosclerosis in the Korean population. Also, the AvaII polymorphism analysis by PCR is a simple and less time-consuming method.