Heritability of serum apolipoprotein concentrations in middle-aged Japanese twins.
BACKGROUND
Studies of the genetic and environmental influences on apolipoproteins have been conducted, but few have used data from Japanese twins. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the genetic and environmental causes of individual differences in the serum concentrations of apolipoproteins in Japanese middle-aged twins.


METHODS
Apo A-I, apo A-II, apo B, apo C-II, apo C-III, and apo E were studied. A total of 142 twin pairs, aged 45 through 65 years, were enrolled: 85 monozygotic pairs (59 male, 26 female) and 57 same-sexed dizygotic pairs (43 male, 14 female). The intraclass correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling were used to estimate the best-fitting model and heritability.


RESULTS
Sixteen percent to 75% of the total variances of apo A-I, apo C-II, and apo C-III were attributable to genetic influence; apo A-I and apo C-II were influenced by dominant genetic factors. Twenty percent to 73% of the total variances of apo A-II, apo B, and apo E were attributable to additive genetic influence; apo B was clearly influenced by common environmental factors. Furthermore, the heritability of all apolipoproteins was higher among females than among males.


CONCLUSIONS
Genetic factors, including additive genetic effects (A) and dominant effects (D), influence apolipoprotein levels. However, a common environment does not influence the variances of these apolipoproteins, with the exception of apo B. Furthermore, the heritability of apolipoprotein phenotypes differs by sex.
Cai
Yang Ping
YP
Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 5650871, Japan. cyp0931@hotmail.com
Hayakawa
Kazuo
K
Nishihara
Reiko
R
Kato
Kenji
K
D000368:Aged; D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005799:Genes, Dominant; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D012307:Risk Factors
D001053:Apolipoproteins
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