APOLIPOPROTEIN-E POLYMORPHISM IN THE GREEK POPULATION

The APOE gene is located on chromosome 19, and the three common allele s are designated epsilon 2, epsilon 3, and epsilon 4. The epsilon 4 al lele is associated with increased plasma cholesterol, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and decreased longevi ty. The objective of the present study was to estimate the distributio n of APOE alleles in the Greek population by DNA analysis. The materia l consisted of 216 voluntary, healthy Greek blood donors (146 males/70 females). The APOE allele frequencies were epsilon 2: 5.3%, epsilon 3 : 88.2%, epsilon 4: 6.5%. The epsilon 4 allele frequency of 6.5% in th e Greek population is, together with the frequency in the Chinese popu lation, among the lowest in the world.