GENETIC-VARIATION AT THE APO-B 3'-HYPERVARIABLE REGION IN A SERBIAN POPULATION

We investigated common length polymorphism caused by a variable number of tandem repeats in the hypervariable region located at the 3' end o f the human apolipoprotein B gene in 696 Serbian (Belgrade area) unrel ated individuals of both genders. After using the polymerase chain rea ction to amplify this polymorphic region, 17 different alleles, contai ning 22-54 repeats, were distinguished. The bimodal distribution and t he heterozygosity index (average 0.71) obtained in both genders are si milar to those reported for other Caucasian populations. However, the HVE34 allele was found to be the commonest in both female and male sam ples. There was also a lower frequency of the HVE>36 alleles than in o ther Caucasian populations studied.