Apolipoprotein E2/E3/E4 genotyping with agarose gels

Here we report an improved, simple method to assign the human apolipoprotein (apo) E genotype and its isoforms, apo E2, apo E3, and apo E4. Genomic DNA was amplified with specific primers that included the polymorphic region of amino acids 112 and 158. Digestion of the product with Hhal resulted in unique fragments that were separated on Meta-Phor agarose instead of polyacrylamide. The pattern of unique DNA fragments obtained unequivocally characterizes the different apo E alleles.