Ch. Warden et al., EVIDENCE FOR LINKAGE OF THE APOLIPOPROTEIN-A-II LOCUS TO PLASMA APOLIPOPROTEIN-A-II AND FREE FATTY-ACID LEVELS IN MICE AND HUMANS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 90(22), 1993, pp. 10886-10890
Although it has been hypothesized that the synteny between mouse and h
uman genes provides an approach to the localization of genes that dete
rmine quantitative traits in humans, this has yet to be demonstrated.
We tested this approach with two quantitative traits, plasma apolipopr
otein A-II (apoAII) and free fatty acid (FFA) levels. ApoAII is the se
cond most abundant protein of high density lipoprotein particles, but
its function remains largely unknown. We now show that, in a backcross
between strains Mus spretus and C57BL/6J, apoAII levels correlate wit
h plasma FFA concentrations on both chow (P < 0.0001) and high-fat (P
< 0.0003) diets and that apoAII levels are linked to the apoAII gene (
P < 0.0002). To test whether variations of the apoAII gene influence p
lasma lipid metabolism in humans, we studied 306 individuals in 25 fam
ilies enriched for coronary artery disease. The segregation of the apo
AII gene was followed by using an informative simple sequence repeat i
n the second intron of the gene and two nearby genetic markers. Robust
sib-pair linkage analysis was performed on members of these families
using the SAGE linkage programs. The results suggest linkage between t
he human apoAII gene and a gene controlling plasma apoAII levels (P =
0.03). Plasma apoAII levels were also significantly correlated with pl
asma FFA levels (P = 0.007). Moreover, the apoAII gene exhibited linka
ge with a gene controlling FFA levels (P = 0.003). Evidence for nonran
dom segregation was seen with markers as far as 6-12 centimorgans from
the apoAII structural locus. These data provide evidence, in two spec
ies, that the apoAII gene is linked to a gene that controls plasma apo
AII levels and that apoAII influences, by an unknown mechanism, plasma
FFA levels. The results illustrate the utility of animal studies for
analysis of complex traits.