title: Apolipoprotein E gene variants on the risk of end stage renal disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a severe health concern over the world. Associations between apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene polymorphisms and the risk of ESRD remained inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate the association between apoE gene polymorphisms and ESRD susceptibility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were searched to find relevant studies. Meta-analysis method was used synthesize the eligible studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen pertinent case-control studies which included 3510 cases and 13924 controls were analyzed. A signiﬁcant association was found between ε2 allele and the ESRD risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% conﬁdence interval (CI) 1.15-1.46, P < 0.0001; I (2) = 18%, P for heterogeneity = 0.24). The ε2ε3, ε2ε4, ε3ε3, ε3ε4, ε4ε4, ε3 and ε4 were not associated with the susceptibility of ESRD. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, there was a statistically significant association between ε2ε3 or ε2 allele and ESRD risk in East Asians (OR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.31-2.10, P < 0.0001; OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.31-2.01, P < 0.0001, respectively), but not in Caucasians. E2 carriers had higher plasma apoE (mean difference = 16.24 mg/L, 95% CI 7.76-24.73, P = 0.0002) than the (ε3 + ε4) carriers in patients with ESRD. The publication bias was not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ε2 allele of apoE gene might increase the risk of ESRD. E2 carriers expressed higher level of plasma apoE in patients with ESRD. More well-designed studies are needed to conﬁrm these associations in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Disease, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Lujiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Changlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mei
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D039781:PubMed; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E