ASSOCIATION BETWEEN APOLIPOPROTEIN A2 MSPI POLYMORPHISM AND HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA IN KOREANS

In view of the possible involvement of apolipoprotein A2 (apoA2) in li poprotein metabolism, we investigated the association between genetic variation of the APOA2 gene and lipid levels in Korean subjects with h ypertriglyceridemia. The MspI rare allele (M-) frequency in hypertrigl yceridemic subjects was higher than that in normal control subjects, a lthough the difference was not statistically significant. The M- allel e frequency in a healthy population was higher in Koreans (0.27) than in Caucasian groups (0.10-0.21) studied previously. APOA2 polymorphism had an effect on plasma triglyceride levels in hypertriglyceridemic s amples (p < 0.005). Triglyceride levels showed a gene dosage effect wi th the heterozygous genotype having an intermediate level between the two homozygous genotypes. However, the normal control group showed a l ack of association with lipid traits. Thus the results suggest that, a t least in Koreans, among hypertriglyceridemic subjects there is an as sociation between APOA2 MspI genotypes and triglyceride levels.