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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #109701
Title: ASSOCIATION OF TAQIB POLYMORPHISM IN THE CHOLESTERYL ESTER TRANSFER PROTEINGENE WITH PLASMA LIPID LEVELS IN A HEALTHY SPANISH POPULATION

Author
item CORELLA, DOLORES - UNIV VALENCIA
item SAIZ, CARMEN - UNIV VALENCIA
item GUILLEN, MARISA - UNIV VALENCIA
item PORTOLES, OLGA - UNIV VALENCIA
item MULET, FRANCISCO - UNIV VALENCIA
item GONZALEZ, JOSE - UNIV VALENCIA
item ORDOVAS, JOSE - HNRCA-TUFTS

Submitted to: Atherosclerosis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/5/1999
Publication Date: 10/1/2000
Citation: CORELLA, D., SAIZ, C., GUILLEN, M., PORTOLES, O., MULET, F., GONZALEZ, J.L., ORDOVAS, J.M. ASSOCIATION OF TAQIB POLYMORPHISM IN THE CHOLESTERYL ESTER TRANSFER PROTEINGENE WITH PLASMA LIPID LEVELS IN A HEALTHY SPANISH POPULATION. ATHEROSCLEROSIS. 2000;152:367-376.

Interpretive Summary: Lipoproteins are particles carrying cholesterol and fats in the bloodstream. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein is a protein that transports lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) between lipoproteins. This protein may play a key role in reverse cholesterol transport, a mechanism by which excess cholesterol from the cells is removed from the body. In this paper we show that a frequent mutation in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene is associated with significant variations in the lipoprotein profile in men and women. This finding can be used to differentiate among individuals according to their cardiovascular risk and to target those subjects at higher risk for more aggressive dietary therapy. Moreover, this information could be use in the future to establish dietary public health recommendations.

Technical Abstract: Genetic variants at the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) locus have been associated with CETP activity and mass, as well as plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A-I levels. We examined allele frequencies and lipid associations for the common CETP TaqIB polymorphism in a sample of 514 healthy subjects (231 men, mean age 37.4 years, and 283 women, mean age 35.7 years) residing in Valencia (Spain). The frequency of the less common TaqIB2 allele (0.351; 95% CI: 0.322-0.380) was significantly lower than those reported for Northern European populations. Consistent with previous studies, we found a significant association of the TaqIB polymorphism with HDL-C levels. Homozygotes for the B1 allele had lower HDL-C levels than subjects carrying the B2 allele. Multivariate models including TaqIB genotype, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, marital status and education were fitted to predict HDL-C levels. The TaqIB polymorphism was consistently an independent predictor of HDL-C levels (p<0.001), and explained 5.8% of its variance. To evaluate gene-environmental interactions, first order interaction terms were tested into the multivariate model. No statistically significant interactions between the TaqIB genotypes and smoking, alcohol, physical activity or education were detected. In conclusion, we observed a significant association of the TaqIB polymorphism with HDL-C levels, which remained consistent across different levels of behavioral factors. Moreover, we found that the TaqIB2 allele frequency was lower in our sample than in other European populations, which could be a contributing factor to the unexpected high prevalence of coronary heart disease observed in the region of Valencia.