Apolipoprotein A5 3'-UTR variants and cardiometabolic traits in Koreans: results from the Korean genome and epidemiology study and the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Oh Yoen Kim; Jiyoung Moon; Garam Jo; So-Young Kwak; Ji Young Kim; Min-Jeong Shin

doi:10.4162/nrp.2018.12.1.61

Apolipoprotein A5 3'-UTR variants and cardiometabolic traits in Koreans: results from the Korean genome and epidemiology study and the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Nutr Res Pract. 2018 Feb;12(1):61-68. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2018.12.1.61. Epub 2018 Jan 17.

Authors

Oh Yoen Kim¹, Jiyoung Moon², Garam Jo², So-Young Kwak², Ji Young Kim², Min-Jeong Shin²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Korea.
² Department of Public Health Sciences, BK21PLUS Program in Embodiment: Health-Society Interaction, Graduate School, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea.

Abstract

Background/objectives: This study aimed to test the association between APOA5 3'-UTR variants (rs662799) and cardiometabolic traits in Koreans.

Subjects/methods: For this study, epidemiological data, Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) genotype information, and lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) biospecimens from a subset of the Ansung-Ansan cohort within the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study (KoGES-ASAS; n = 7,704) as well as epidemiological data along with genomic DNA biospecimens of participants from a subset of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2011-12; n = 2,235) were obtained. APOA5 mRNA expression was also measured.

Results: APOA5 rs662799 genotype distributions in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups were 50.6% for TT, 41.3% for TC, and 8.1% for CC, which are similar to those in previous reports. In both groups, minor C allele carriers, particularly subjects with CC homozygosity, had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and higher triglyceride levels than TT homozygotes. Linear regression analysis showed that the minor C allele significantly contributed to reduction of circulating HDL cholesterol levels [β = -2.048, P < 0.001; β = -2.199, P < 0.001] as well as elevation of circulating triglyceride levels [β = 0.053, P < 0.001; β = 0.066, P < 0.001] in both the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES groups. In addition, higher expression levels of APOA5 in LCLs of 64 healthy individuals were negatively associated with body mass index (r = -0.277, P = 0.027) and circulating triglyceride level (r = -0.340, P = 0.006) but not significantly correlated with circulating HDL cholesterol level. On the other hand, we observed no significant difference in the mRNA level of APOA5 according to APOA5 rs662799 polymorphisms.

Conclusions: The C allele of APOA5 rs662799 was found to be significantly associated with cardiometabolic traits in a large Korean population from the KoGES-ASAS and KNHANES. The effect of this genotype may be associated with post-transcriptional regulation, which deserves further experimental confirmation.

Keywords: Apolipoprotein A-V; Koreans; metabolic syndrome; triglycerides.