The epsilon4 allele of the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (apoE) is associated with elevated serum levels of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), greater disease severity, and higher CHD mortality.
A mutant form of apolipoprotein E that is defective in binding to low density lipoprotein receptors is associated with familial type III hyperlipoproteinemia, a genetic disorder characterized by elevated plasma cholesterol levels and accelerated coronary artery disease.
These results, that associate overexpression of fibrinogen with enhance apolipoprotein B secretion, may be significant since epidemiological studies indicate that elevated levels of fibrinogen and lipids are independent risk factors in coronary artery disease.
A recent report demonstrates that plasma platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase activity increases in men and women with stable angina or acute coronary syndromes, supporting previously published data that plasma levels of the protein are independently and positively associated with the risk of coronary artery disease.
As the levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], an important and independent cardiovascular risk factor, are high in polygenic hypercholesterolemia (PH), we investigated plasma Lp(a) levels and apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] phenotypes in relation to occurrence of CHD events in PH patients.
Moreover, of the 8 sex-biased genes at these loci, 4 have been directly linked to monogenic disorders of lipid metabolism and show an expression profile in females (elevated expression of ABCA1, APOA5 and LDLR; reduced expression of LIPC) that is consistent with the lower female risk of coronary artery disease.
We aimed to investigate the cumulative effect of high CRP level and apolipoprotein B-to-apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoB/ApoA-1) ratio on the incidence of ischemic stroke (IS) or coronary heart disease (CHD) in a Mongolian population in China.
We did not observe any significant effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on gene expression levels of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), IL-8 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) in PBMC of diabetic patients with CHD.
Some reports have suggested that plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels may explain such variation and that FH subjects deficient in LDL receptors, especially those with coronary heart disease, tend to have elevated Lp(a) levels.
An investigation of the influence of selected factors on the clinical expression of the FH Afrikaner-1 mutation in this family indicated that it was especially the elevated apolipoprotein (a) levels, in addition to low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and raised triglyceride and apolipoprotein B levels, that were associated with a greater risk of developing CHD.
Lipoprotein(a) levels were strongly associated with coronary artery disease in five of seven prospective studies but were not associated in two of the four largest studies.
Apolipoprotein B levels were strongly associated with coronary artery disease in four of five prospective studies but were more predictive of coronary artery disease than were total cholesterol levels in only two of the four studies.
The association of elevated lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke, is well established.