Clin Mol Hepatol.  2012 Sep;18(3):295-301. 10.3350/cmh.2012.18.3.295.

Association between apolipoprotein E genotype, chronic liver disease, and hepatitis B virus

• Ahn SJ
• Kim DK
• Kim SS
• Bae CB
• Cho HJ
• Kim HG
• Kim YJ
• Lee JH
• Lee HJ
• Lee MY
• Kim KB
• Cho JH
• Cho SW
• Cheong JY

• KMID: 1392909
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2012.18.3.295

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) plays an important role in regulating lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, and ApoE genotypes are known to affect plasma lipoprotein concentrations. We investigated whether ApoE genotype determines the disease outcome in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals, and verified the association between ApoE genotype and the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver diseases of various etiologies.
METHODS
This hospital-based, case-controlled study enrolled 156 subjects (47 healthy controls, 50 HBV-related liver cirrhosis patients, and 59 HCC patients). ApoE genotypes were determined using PCR-based ApoE genotyping kits. The biological significance of ApoE genotype was verified by measuring serum ApoE levels using an ELISA kits.
RESULTS
The epsilon3 allele was the most common allele, with allele frequencies among the entire cohort of 5.8%, 84.3%, and 9.9% for the epsilon2, epsilon3, and epsilon4 alleles, respectively. Significantly more of those patients carrying the epsilon3/3 genotype had developed liver cirrhosis compared to the control subjects. Being an ApoE4 carrier was associated with a lower probability of developing liver cirrhosis. The allele frequencies and genotype distribution of ApoE did not differ significantly between the liver cirrhosis and HCC patients. The serum level of ApoE was significantly higher in patients with liver cirrhosis than in the healthy controls, but did not differ significantly with the ApoE genotype.
CONCLUSIONS
The ApoE epsilon3/3 genotype frequency was higher in patients with HBV-associated liver cirrhosis than in the controls.

Keyword

Apolipoprotein E; Hepatitis B virus; Genotype; Liver cirrhosis

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alleles
Apolipoproteins E/*genetics/metabolism
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*metabolism/pathology
Case-Control Studies
Child
Chronic Disease
Cohort Studies
Female
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Hepatitis B/complications/metabolism/virology
Hepatitis B virus/*physiology
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis/etiology/*metabolism
Liver Neoplasms/*metabolism/pathology
Male
Middle Aged
Young Adult