Association between the apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and ischemic stroke in Chinese populations: New data and meta-analysis

Lian Gu; Li Su; Qing Chen; Baoyun Liang; Yuwang Qin; Juanjuan Xie; Guangliang Wu; Yan Yan; Jianxiong Long; Huayu Wu; Jinjing Tan; Weihua Dou; Wei Chen; Peng Wu; Jinping Wang

doi:10.3892/etm.2012.866

Association between the apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and ischemic stroke in Chinese populations: New data and meta-analysis

Exp Ther Med. 2013 Mar;5(3):853-859. doi: 10.3892/etm.2012.866. Epub 2012 Dec 19.

Authors

Lian Gu¹, Li Su, Qing Chen, Baoyun Liang, Yuwang Qin, Juanjuan Xie, Guangliang Wu, Yan Yan, Jianxiong Long, Huayu Wu, Jinjing Tan, Weihua Dou, Wei Chen, Peng Wu, Jinping Wang

Affiliation

¹ Department of Internal Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530023;

Abstract

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a complex multifactorial inherited disease. Many studies have focused on the potential genetic effects of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene polymorphism on IS. However, inconsistencies still exist in the association of ApoE gene polymorphism with IS. The aim of this study was to investigate the ApoE gene polymorphism in relation to IS in the Guangxi Han populations and assess the risk of various ApoE genotypes associated with IS in Chinese populations. We conducted a case-control study involving a total of 166 IS cases and 192 healthy controls to investigate the association of ApoE gene polymorphism with IS in the Guangxi Han populations. Furthermore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate whether the ApoE gene polymorphism is associated with IS in Chinese populations. There was no evidence for a significant association between ApoE gene polymorphism and IS in the Guangxi Han populations (ɛ2/ɛ2 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3: OR=1.25, 95% CI=0.08-20.17; ɛ2/ɛ3 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3: OR=1.49, 95% CI=0.79-2.79; ɛ2/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3: OR=1.25, 95% CI=0.17-9.00; ɛ3/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3: OR=1.10, 95% CI=0.60-2.04; ɛ4/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3: OR=2.50, 95% CI=0.22-27.87; allele ɛ2 vs. allele ɛ3: OR=1.39, 95% CI=0.80-2.44; allele ɛ4 vs. allele ɛ3: OR=1.16, 95% CI=0.68-1.98). In our meta-analysis, a significant association of ApoE gene polymorphism with IS was found in the genetic model of ɛ2/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3 (OR=2.04, 95% CI=1.45-2.85), ɛ3/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3 (OR=1.93, 95% CI=1.42-2.62), ɛ4/ɛ4 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3 (OR=3.41, 95% CI=2.17-5.34) and allele ɛ4 vs. allele ɛ3 (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.91-2.86). However, no clear associations were found in the model of ɛ2/ɛ2 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3 (OR=1.56, 95% CI=0.90-2.71), ɛ2/ɛ3 vs. ɛ3/ɛ3 (OR=0.93, 95% CI=0.79-1.09) and allele ɛ2 vs. allele ɛ3 (OR=1.10, 95% CI=0.97-1.25). In conclusion, no association was found between ApoE gene polymorphism and IS in the Guangxi Han populations, while the results of the meta-analysis indicate that the ApoE mutation allele ɛ4 increases the risk of IS in Chinese populations.

Keywords: apolipoprotein E gene; association study; ischemic stroke; meta-analysis; polymorphism.