APO B3' HVR POLYMORPHISM IN HEALTHY POPULATION - RELATIONSHIPS TO SERUM-LIPID LEVELS

We have analyzed allele frequency distribution at the hypervariable lo cus 3' to the apolipoprotein B gene in a healthy population sample (24 1 women and 246 men) from the Belgrade area. The bimodal distribution of sixteen different hypervariable region (HVR) alleles and the hetero zygosity index (average 0.76) in both samples are similar to ones repo rted for other Caucasian populations. However, we found the hypervaria ble element containing 34 repeats-HVE34 allele to be the most common o ne in both female and male samples, and that there was a lower frequen cy of the HVE>36 alleles. For further analysis of 3'HVR allele frequen cy and its possible association with serum lipid levels, all HVR allel es were grouped into five main types (HVE<32, HVE32, HVE34, HVE36, and HVE>36), and the samples were divided into lipid quartiles. We found that (1) apo B gene 3'HVR polymorphism is associated with variation of normal lipid levels in males, (2) HVE32 alleles are associated with d ecreased serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and trigl ycerides, and (3) HVR genotypes containing HVE34 and HVE36 alleles are associated with elevated serum levels of total cholesterol, low densi ty lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. (C) 1998 Wiley-Li ss, Inc.