Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in the early onset of coronary heart disease

To assess the relationship between apolipoprotein E (apoE) polymorphism and the early onset of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the effect of apoE on lipids and lipoproteins in healthy Chinese subjects Methods Sixty eight patients with CHD younger than 55 years (CHD1), 136 patients with CHD older than 65 years (CHD2), and 136 healthy subjects were enrolled, and their plasma levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL C) were determined The apoE genotypes were identified by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism Results apoE 3/4 genotype and E4 allele frequency in the CHD1 group were higher than those in the CHD2 group and healthy subjects, while no differences were found between CHD2 and healthy subjects Meanwhile, the plasma levels of TC and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL C) were higher in the CHD2 group than in both CHD1 group and healthy subjects Each apoE isoprotein has variable TC and LDL C levels that is E2 (E2/2 E2/3)