[Impact of apolipoprotein A5 on cardiovascular risk. Genetic and environmental modulation]

Triglyceride concentrations are an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease. Apolipoprotein A5 gene (APOAS) has an important role determining triglyceride metabolism and it is a potential cardiovascular risk. However the mechanisms for these actions are not well-known. Despite the different allelic frequency of its major polymorphisms in different populations, multiple studies have shown consistent associations between these variants and fasting triglycerides. Variations in the APOA5 gene have also been associated with postprandial triglycerides, as well as with different sizes of lipoproteins and other markers. Moreover, some of the APOA5 gene variants have been associated with ischemic heart disease, stroke, and carotid intima media thickness, although the references on this issue are scanty and contradictory. This may be due to the presence of gene-environment interactions that have been poorly studied until now. Among the few studies that have examined the influence of environmental factors on possible genetic variations, the most important are those that contemplate possible gene-diet interactions. However, the evidence is still scarce and more research is required in the field of nutrigenomics. To understand the impact of this gene on cardiovascular disease, we review the genetic functionality and variability of APOA5, its associations with intermediate and final phenotypes and gene-environment interactions detected.