Association of genetic polymorphisms of apolipoprotein E gene and type-2 diabetic mellitus complicated with coronary heart disease in Chaoshan patients

Objective To investigate the association of genetic polymorphisms of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) complicated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in Chaoshan patients. Methods ApoE gene polymorphisms were detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) in the subjects of three groups (control group, T2DM group, and T2DM+CHD group). At the same time, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting blood-glucose (FBG) were detected in the serum of these subjects. Results Among the three groups, the frequencies of E4/E3 genotype and E4-allele of ApoE were the highest in T2DM+CHD group (P<0.05). The levels of serum TC and LDL-C of E4-allele carriers were higher than those of E3-allele carriers in T2DM+CHD group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion ApoE E4-alleles increases the susceptibility to CHD in T2DM patients of Chaoshan region. Key words: Diabetes mellitus; Coronary heart disease; Genetic polymorphism; Apolipoprotein E