Associations of the APOC3 rs5128 polymorphism with plasma APOC3 and lipid levels: a meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
Studies of the association between the apolipoprotein C3 gene (APOC3) rs5128 polymorphism and plasma levels of apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) and lipids have reported apparently conflicting findings. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the associations of the rs5128 polymorphism with fasting APOC3 and lipid levels.


METHODS
The following information was abstracted for each study: ethnicity, age, sex, health condition, sample size, genotyping and lipid assay methods, mean and standard deviation or standard error by genotypes for APOC3 and lipid variables. There were 42 eligible studies with 23846 subjects included in this meta-analysis. A dominant model was used for this meta-analysis.


RESULTS
The results showed that the carriers of the variant allele G had higher levels of APOC3 [standardized mean difference (SMD): 0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12-0.31, P<0.00001], triglycerides (TG) (SMD: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.23-0.44, P<0.00001), total cholesterol (TC) (SMD: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.09-0.22, P<0.00001), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (SMD: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.04-0.17, P=0.001) than the non-carriers. No significant association between the APOC3 rs5128 polymorphism and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was detected under the dominant model (SMD: -0.03, 95% CI: -0.06-0.01, P=0.156).


CONCLUSIONS
The results from the present meta-analysis demonstrate a significant association between the APOC3 rs5128 polymorphism and higher levels of APOC3, TG, TC and LDL-C, but further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Preclinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. Songyongyan2014@hotmail.com.
Yongyan
Y
Song
School of Clinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. 317766681@qq.com.
Liren
L
Zhu
School of Clinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. richa_35@hotmail.com.
Mudwari
M
Richa
School of Clinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. 1061275946@qq.com.
Ping
P
Li
School of Clinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. 1612752065@qq.com.
Yang
Y
Yang
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, P R. China. Supingli2013@hotmail.com.
Suping
S
Li
D053305:Apolipoprotein C-III / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D053305:Apolipoprotein C-III; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol