title: Apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele and nephrotic glomerular diseases in children.
abstract: Hyperlipidemia is a well-recognized complication of the nephrotic syndrome and is a factor contributing to the progression of the initial glomerular injury and the development of glomerulosclerosis. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a plasma protein and apoE epsilon 4 allele is associated with higher plasma cholesterol levels. With this in mind, we studied apoE phenotypes and alleles in children with nephrotic glomerular diseases (NGD, n=29), including idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (n=16), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (n=7), and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS, n=6). Children with NGD had a higher epsilon 4 allele frequency (20.7%) than controls (10.8%), and those with FSGS had both higher apoE4/3 (66.7%) and epsilon 4 allele (33.3%) frequencies than controls (20.4% and 10.8%, respectively). In IgA nephropathy (n=30, disease controls), no significant association with specific apoE was found. Further studies are needed to clarify the significance of the observed high frequencies of apoE epsilon 4 allele in children with NGD and apoE4/3 phenotype distribution in FSGS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Niigata University, Japan. asamitds@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ciomartan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomisawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000483:Alleles; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000235:genetics*; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000235:genetics; D015432:Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative / Q000235:genetics; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009404:Nephrotic Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E