Short CommunicationAssociation of APOE, GCPII and MMP9 polymorphisms with common diseases and lipid levels in an older adult/elderly cohort

- APOE ε2 allele is associated with lower total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol.
- MMP9 rs3918242 T allele is associated with higher LDL-cholesterol levels.
- GCPII polymorphisms do not have importance as age-related diseases risk factors.

Background and aimsThe characterization of candidate gene polymorphisms in elderly populations is an important tool for the identification of risk factors for age-related diseases and conditions. We aimed to genotype the APOE polymorphisms (rs429358 and rs7412), rs61886492 (1561C>T) and rs202720 of GCPII gene and rs3918242 (− 1562C>T) of MMP9 gene in an older-adult/elderly cohort from Cuiabá city, Mato Grosso Brazil as well as to characterize risk factors for morbidities and conditions affecting this cohort.MethodsThe studied population consisted of 570 subjects from Cuiabá city, Brazil, who were subjected to clinical interviews and blood collection for laboratory examinations and DNA extraction. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Polymerase Chain Reaction (RFLP-PCR), sequence-specific primer PCR (SSP-PCR) and TaqMan® allelic discrimination assay were used for genotyping.ResultsThe frequencies of APOE ε2 and ε4 were 6.6% and 14.8%, respectively, and the frequencies of GCPII rs61886492 T allele, GCPII rs202720 C allele and MMP9 rs3918242 T allele were, respectively, 3.0%, 26.6% and 10.1%. Significant associations between APOE ε2 allele with lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were found. In addition, MMP9 rs3918242 T allele was associated with higher LDL-cholesterol levels, suggesting a link between lipid metabolism alteration and cardiovascular disease.ConclusionsThe present findings contributed to characterize risk factors specific for the studied population and to better understand the molecular physiopathology of common morbidities and conditions affecting older-adult/elderly people.