Polymorphisms of apolipoproteins A-IV and E in a Turkish population living in Germany

Human apolipoproteins (apo) E and apo A-IV are polymorphic with significantly different allele frequencies among different ethnic groups. Whereas the variation at the apo E gene locus affects plasma cholesterol levels in all populations studied so far and is associated with longevity in Caucasians, the influence of the common apo A-IV polymorphism on plasma lipoproteins has not been unanimously accepted. We have therefore determined the common apo E and apo A-IV polymorphisms by isoelectric focusing, calculated the respective allele frequencies and studied their effects on plasma lipoproteins in a random sample of 240 nonrelated Turkish subjects (141 males, 99 females) living in Germany and originating from central and eastern Anatolia. When compared with the German population and other Caucasians in Europe a prominence of the apo epsilon 3 allele frequency (0.885) was accompanied by a decrease in the frequencies of both the apo epsilon 2 allele (0.048) and the apo epsilon 4 allele (0.067). Thus, the Turkish population studied here clustered with populations mainly from southern Europe and Japan, which have low epsilon 2 and epsilon 4 allele frequencies. Also, the frequency of the A-IV-1 allele was higher (0.967) and that of the A-IV-2 allele lower (0.033) in the Turkish subjects studied than in other populations. At an average level of total cholesterol of 194.5 +/- 45 mg/dl, no significant influence of the A-IV alleles on plasma lipoproteins was seen. However, apo E and apo B differed significantly between apo E phenotypes, with high levels of apo E and low levels of cholesterol and apo B in carriers of the epsilon 2 allele, and vice versa for the epsilon 4 allele. The average cholesterol excess for the epsilon 2 allele was -7.95 mg/dl, for the epsilon 3 allele, -1.34, and for the epsilon 4 allele, + 14.15 mg/dl. Thus, despite the unusual frequency distribution of the apo E alleles, their effects on plasma lipoproteins are within the range reported for other populations in Europe.