Frequencies of Apolipoprotein E polymorphism in Iraqi Kurdish population

Abstract

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a circulating lipoprotein that contributed to lipid metabolism in the body. APOE is a polymorphic gene with three different alleles, APOE2, APOE3, and APOE4. Studies have found that APOE polymorphism is associated with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The frequency of these alleles varies among different populations. This study aims to find the frequency of APOE variants in healthy Iraqi Kurdish subjects to establish a basic background for future disease association studies.The frequency of APOE variants in one-hundred fourteen healthy Kurdish subjects was determined using a polymerase chain reaction based technique called allele-specific sequence-specific-primers.The frequency of the alleles was 0.061, 0.904, and 0.035 for APOE2, APOE3, and APOE4, respectively. The APOE3 allele frequency in the Kurdish population was among the highest in the world whereas APOE4 frequency was among the lowest. These results were similar to those reported from other neighboring countries like Turkey and Iran, and other middle-eastern countries like Lebanon, but were different from Caucasians, Native Americans, and most African populations. This study provides a baseline for future studies on APOE association with neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases in the Kurdish ethnic group.