ASSOCIATION OF BONE-MINERAL DENSITY WITH APOLIPOPROTEIN-E PHENOTYPE

The phenotypes of apolipoprotein E (Apo E) and their relationship with the bone mineral density (BMD) were examined in 284 unrelated postmen opausal Japanese women aged 47-82 years (64.0 +/- 1.0 Sears, mean +/- SE). The Apo E phenotype was analyzed by the isoelectric focusing meth od, followed by immunoblotting. The relationship between the Apo E phe notype and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene or estrogen receptor (ER) gene genotypes was also studied in the same population. The Apo E phe notypic frequencies in our population were 9.9% for E3/2, 66.5% for E3 /3, 1.8% for E4/2, 19.7% for E4/3, and 2.1% for E4/4. We classified th ese phenotypes into three categories: Apo E4-/- (E3/2 and E3/3, n = 21 7), Apo E4+/- (E4/3 and E4/2, n = 61), and Apo E4+/+ (E4/4, n = 6). Th e age, body weight, body height, and years since menopause were not si gnificantly different among these three categories. The lumbar BMD val ues in these three groups were significantly different in the order of E4-/- (0.91 +/- 0.01 g/cm(2)), E4+/- (0.85 +/- 0.02 g/cm(2)), and E4/+ (0.83 +/- 0.06 g/cm(2)) (p = 0.031), The same trend was also observ ed for the Z score of the total BMD (p = 0.022), The serum level of in tact osteocalcin in E4+/+ (15.2 +/- 5.7 ng/ml) was higher than in E4-/ - (7.7 +/- 0.3 ng/ml) or E4+/- (7.7 +/- 0.7 ng/ml) (p = 0.004 by analy sis of variance). However, there were no other significant differences in the serum or urinary levels of bone turnover markers. Serum choles terol in the E4+/+ group tended to be higher than in the other two gro ups (p = 0.05). There mere no significant associations of the VDR and ER genotypes with the Apo E4 phenotype. A multivariate linear regressi on analysis revealed Apo E4 to be a significant, independent predictor of the Z score of the lumbar BMD. The effect of the Apo E4 allele on the Z score of the lumbar BMD (-0.493 +/- 0.152) was not significantly different hom that in the AAB of VDR (-0.616 +/- 0.225) or PPxu of ER (-0.785 +/- 0.314). In conclusion, the Apo E4 allele is associated wi th a low bone mass in postmenopausal Japanese.