Apolipoproteins E – ABC CARDIOL

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Editorial

Lifestyle in the Very Elderly Matters

According to the estimates and projections of the 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects, life expectancy will continue to rise in the following 30 years worldwide, the percentage of the population aged 65 years or over will jump from 9% in 2020 to 16% in 2050, and the number of persons aged 80 years or over will triple up to 2050.

The biology of aging and implicated genes has been studied for a long time as a basis for the search for therapies that may mitigate age-related processes, such as dementia and cardiovascular disease. Among the multitude of aspects that have been explored, the research involving apolipoprotein E (apoE) assumes particular relevance. ApoE is a 299-amino acid protein mainly synthesized by the hepatocytes. Like any other apolipoprotein, apoE is a constituent of lipoproteins and, therefore, has a role in lipid metabolism. In the plasma, apoE is primarily carried by triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and mediates the clearance of their remnants by the low-density lipoprotein receptor. In the brain, in situ produced apoE acts on the redistribution of lipids to neurons, as well as in the clearance of β-amyloid, much known for its association with Alzheimer disease.^,

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Original Article

APOE and LDLR Gene Polymorphisms and Dyslipidemia Tracking. Rio de Janeiro Study

Rossana Ghessa Andrade de Freitas et al. Erika Maria Gonçalves Campana Roberto Pozzan Andréa Araujo Brandão … Ayrton Pires Brandão Maria Eliane Campos Magalhães Dayse Aparecida da Silva

Background:

Studies show an association between changes in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and LDLR receptor with the occurrence of dyslipidemia.

Objectives:

To investigate the association between polymorphisms of the APOE (ε2, ε3, ε4) and LDLR (A370T) genes with the persistence of abnormal serum lipid levels in young individuals followed up for 17 years in the Rio de Janeiro Study.

Methods:

The study included 56 individuals (35 males) who underwent three assessments at different ages: A1 (mean age 13.30 ± 1.53 years), A2 (22.09 ± 1.91 years) and A3 (31.23 ± 1.99 years). Clinical evaluation with measurement of blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) was conducted at all three assessments. Measurement of waist circumference (WC) and serum lipids, and analysis of genetic polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP were performed at A2 and A3. Based on dyslipidemia tracking, three groups were established: 0 (no abnormal lipid value at A2 and A3), 1 (up to one abnormal lipid value at A2 or A3) and 2 (one or more abnormal lipid values at A2 and A3).

Results:

Compared with groups 0 and 1, group 2 presented higher mean values of BP, BMI, WC, LDL-c and TG (p < 0.01) and lower mean values of HDL-c (p = 0.001). Across the assessments, all individuals with APOE genotypes ε2/ε4 and ε4/ε4 maintained at least one abnormal lipid variable, whereas those with genotype ε2/ε3 did not show abnormal values (χ2 = 16.848, p = 0.032). For the LDLR genotypes, there was no significant difference among the groups.

Conclusions:

APOE gene polymorphisms were associated with dyslipidemia in young individuals followed up longitudinally from childhood.