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The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is involved in lipid transport. A common polymorphism in this gene with the APOE*2, APOE*3, and APOE*4 alleles influences plasma levels of apolipoprotein E and cholesterol. Besides its role in lipid transport, the APOE*4 allele is a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD). Recently, a polymorphism in the APOE promoter region was found to be involved in plasma apolipoprotein E levels and was found associated with AD. We studied the effect of this -491A/T promoter polymorphism on plasma apolipoprotein E levels and risk for AD in a population-based case-control study. We found that there was a modest but statistically significant effect of the -491A/T polymorphism on plasma apolipoprotein E levels independent of the APOE genotype. The lowest plasma levels were measured for the AA genotype, highest levels for the TT genotype, and intermediate levels for the heterozygotes. There was a small effect of the -491 AA genotype on AD risk that disappeared after adjusting for APOE genotypes. Our data suggest that the -491A/T polymorphism has an APOE genotype-independent effect on plasma apolipoprotein E levels but no APOE-independent effect on AD risk.

Original publication

DOI

10.1002/ajmg.10407

Type

Journal article

Journal

American journal of medical genetics

Publication Date

07/2002

Volume

114

Pages

570 - 573

Addresses

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Keywords

Humans, Alzheimer Disease, Apolipoproteins E, DNA, Risk Factors, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Alleles, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Male, Promoter Regions, Genetic