Purpose: To analyze clinically relevant interactions between the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles and nutritional factors on glycemic control and lipid levels in a cohort of type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients from western Mexico.
Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional study of the cohort of T2D patients, a total of 224 individuals were selected for interaction studies. Clinical and anthropometric data were obtained from pre-designed medical records. Dietary intake was assessed by validated three-day food consumption records. Biochemical measurements were determined by automated methods. APOE genotyping was performed by a real-time allelic discrimination assay. Gene-diet interactions were tested by corrected multiple linear regression analyses, which were adjusted by potential confounding factors such as age, sex, energy intake, BMI and anti-hyperglycemic therapy (Metformin, Glibenclamide or Insulin), and years with T2D.
Results: Seventy-six percent of patients with T2D were on Metformin therapy. The frequencies of the APOE alleles were ε2 (5.8%), ε3 (74.1%) and ε4 (20.1%). After statistical settings, significant APOE alleles-by-diet interactions in relation to the metabolic profile were found. Interestingly, higher blood levels of total cholesterol (p int. = 0.016), non-HDL-c (p int. = 0.024), and LDL-c (p int. = 0.030) were found only in carriers of the APOE ε2 allele with a low consumption of MUFA. In contrast, carriers of the APOE ε4 allele with a high ω-6:ω-3 PUFA ratio in the diet had higher %HbA1c blood concentrations (p int. = 0.035).
Conclusion: This study suggests a differential metabolic impact of APOE alleles on lipid/glycemic phenotypes depending on the dietary intake, with important potential implications in the personalized medicine and nutritional management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Keywords: APOE alleles; gene–nutrient interactions; glycemic control; personalized medicine; type 2 diabetes; ω-6:ω-3 PUFA ratio.
© 2020 Torres-Valadez et al.