Association between apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease in Uighur and Han populations.
OBJECTIVE
Currently, there are almost 100 genes related to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and studies have indicated that apolipoprotein E (APO E) ε4 allele is a genetic risk factor of AD. However, there have been no reports of the distributions of APO E genotypes and allele frequencies in Uighur and Han AD patients.


METHODS
We analyzed APO E gene polymorphism in 209 AD cases diagnosed based on National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association and 220 non-dementia controls. We used polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods as the basis of this epidemiological survey.


RESULTS
In the AD and control groups, there are no statistically significant differences in APO E genotypes and allele frequency between the Uighur and Han ethnicities (P < 0.05). In the AD group, the ε3/4 genotype (28.2%) and ε4 allele frequency (14.8%) occurred at a higher rate than in the control (13.2% and 8.0%, respectively; P < 0.05). This distinction remained true within each ethnicity; the ε3/4 genotype and ε4 allele frequency are higher in the AD groups (Uighur, 30.6% and 15.8%, respectively; Han, 25.5% and 13.8%, respectively) than in the control groups (Uighur, 14.5% and 9.4%, respectively; Han, 11.7% and 6.3%, respectively; P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The distribution of APO E genotype and allele frequency does not differ between the Uighur and Han ethnicities. The APO E ε4 allele is a risk factor of AD for both populations.
The First Department of Cadre, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China. zhouxiaohui858@sina.com
Xiaohui
X
Zhou
Haijun
H
Miao
Wolf Dieter
WD
Rausch
Ma
M
Long
Xiaomei
X
Luo
Hong
H
Yu
Xiaoning
X
Zhang
Kumusi
K
Bayahemaiti
Palida
P
Abulizi
Kabinur
K
Keyimu
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D053318:Apolipoprotein E3 / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics*; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
D053318:Apolipoprotein E3; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4