In vivo characterization of human APOA5 haplotypes

Increased plasma triglyceride concentrations are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies support a reproducible genetic association between two minor haplotypes in the human apolipoprotein A5 gene (APOA5) and increased plasma triglyceride concentrations. We thus sought to investigate the effects of these minor haplotypes (APOA5*2 and APOA5*3) on ApoAV plasma levels through the precise insertion of single-copy APOA5 haplotypes at a targeted location (Hprt) in the mouse genome. While we found no difference in the amount of human plasma ApoAV in mice containing the common APOA5*1 or minor APOA5*2 haplotype, the introduction of the single APOA5*3-defining allele (19W) resulted in three fold lower ApoAV plasma levels, consistent with existing genetic association studies. These results indicate that the S19W polymorphism is likely to be functional and explain the strong association of this variant with plasma triglycerides, supporting the value of sensitive in vivo assays to define the functional nature of human haplotypes.