Allele Frequencies of Apolipoprotein E in a South Western Nigerian population on HAART

Abstract

Objective: Increasing evidence has shown that ApoE polymorphism is associated with the early onset of cardiovascular and neurological diseases in patients on HAART. The frequency of occurrence of the alleles and the genotypes vary by race and population. The study describes the pattern seen among adults in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 124 randomly selected HIV-infected persons on protease inhibitor therapy who receive care at the adult antiretroviral clinic of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. DNA was extracted from leucocytes using EDTA blood. ApoE genotypes were determined using the Seeplex ApoE ACE genotyping kit. The epidemiological distribution of apoE is figured with a pie graph.

Results: About four-fifth (79%) of the participants were females while about two-thirds (68%) were below 50 years of age.  The most frequently occurring allele was the ε3 allele (82.2%) and the most common ApoE genotype observed was ε3/ε3. This genotype was present in 52 (41.9%) of the participants. At least one allele of Apo ε2, Apo ε3, and Apo ε4 was present in 28(22.5%), 102 (82.2%), and 50 (40.3) of the study participants respectively. Homozygosity for Apo ε2 and Apo ε4 was observed in 4.8% and 8.0% of participants respectively.

Conclusions: Allelic frequency seen is similar to that described in other studied populations and the frequency of genotypes observed was also similar to those described among world populations with a higher observation of ApoE4 allele as seen in people of African descent.