title: High frequency of the apolipoprotein E *4 allele in African pygmies and most of the African populations in sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: Apolipoprotein E genotypes (alleles *2, *3, and *4) have been determined in 70 Aka Pygmies and 470 unrelated African sub-Saharan subjects. Allele frequencies for Pygmies are 5.7% for APOE*2, 53.6% for APOE*3, and 40.7% for APOE*4, and the global proportions for sub-Saharan subjects are 11.6% for APOE*2, 70.6% for APOE*3, and 17.8% for APOE*4. The frequencies in some ethnic groups are statistically different from the overall mean in the Afar and the Isa, the Ewe (Togo), the Malinke (Guinea), and the Mossi; three ethnic groups have a higher allele frequency of APOE*4 (Fon, 29.4%; Zairians, 33.3%; Tutsi, 38.5%). The APOE*4 allele is considered the ancestral form because of its high frequency in African Pygmies and other aboriginal populations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zekraoui
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lagarde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raisonnier
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gérard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aouizérate
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lucotte
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000483:Alleles; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D044469:Racial Groups
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E