Browsing by Author "Ehnholm, C."
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- Apolipoprotein E serum concentration and polymorphism in six European countries: the ApoEurope ProjectPublication . Schiele, F.; De Bacquer, D.; Vincent-Viry, M.; Beisiegel, U.; Ehnholm, C.; Evans, A.; Kafatos, A.; Martins, M.C.; Sans, S.; Sass, C.; Visvikis, S.; De Backer, G.; Siest, G.As part of the ApoEurope Project, the apolipoprotein E (apo E) serum concentration and polymorphism were determined in 6934 healthy subjects aged 25-64 years recruited in six European countries: Finland; France; Greece; Northern Ireland; Portugal and Spain. Age and sex influenced apo E concentration with concentrations being significantly higher in men than in women for those aged between 25 and 44 years. The age effect differed between the sexes after the age of 44 years, displaying a linear increase in women and a plateau in men. As expected, the serum apo E concentration was highest in varepsilon2 carriers and lowest in varepsilon4 carriers in each country with a significantly higher frequency of the varepsilon4 allele in the northern regions. The main finding of this study was a clear increasing North-South gradient in serum apo E concentration independent of age, sex and apo E genotype. In subjects aged <45 years and with the varepsilon3/varepsilon3 genotype, apo E concentration was higher in the South-East (Greece) as compared to the North by 20% for men and 32% for women. In addition to the genetic polymorphism, the geographical area is an important factor to take into account when studying serum apo E concentration in multicentre studies and defining reference values.
- The importance of plasma apolipoprotein E concentration in addition to its common polymorphism on inter-individual variation in lipid levels: results from Apo EuropePublication . Haddy, N.; De Bacquer, D.; Chemaly, M.M.; Maurice, M.; Ehnholm, C.; Evans, A.; Sans, S.; Martins, M. do Carmo; De Backer, G.; Siest, G.; Visvikis, S.Interindividual variation in the concentration of plasma lipids which are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. This study investigates the effects of apoE genotype and plasma concentration on cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) levels in subjects from five countries: Finland, France, Northern Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Age and sex significantly influenced serum cholesterol, TG and apoE concentrations. The age effect differs in males and females. The allele frequencies of the apoE gene, one of the most widely studied CAD susceptibility genes, were determined: the epsilon2 allele frequency and the apoE concentration showed a north-south increasing gradient while the epsilon4 allele frequency showed the reverse. ApoE plays an important role in lipid metabolism. Total cholesterol and TG concentrations were significantly dependent on apoE genotype in both sexes. These differences in lipids between genotypes were more pronounced when plasma apoE concentrations were taken into account.