DNA Polymorphism of the Apolipoprotein AI-CIII Gene Cluster and Hypertriglyceridemia : A Study in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus(NIDDM)

DNA polymorphisms to adjacent to the apolipoprotein (apo) AI-CIII gene (on the long arm of chromosome 11) have been reported to be associated with hypertriglyceridemia. We analysed the allelic, genotypic and haplotypic frequencies of two restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Genetic polymorphisms of apo AI-CIII gene were investigated in a Japanese group comprising 95 hypertriglycemic and 136 normotriglycemic non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) subjects. The frequencies of the S2 allele were 37%, M2 allele were 49%, and much higher than control subjects in Caucasians. The frequency of S2 allele (44% vs 32%), S2S2 genotype (21% vs 7%), M2M2 genotype (25% vs 13%), S2S2M2M2 haplotype (20% vs 6%) were significantly increased in the hypertriglyceridemic subjects compared with normotriglyceridemic subjcets. Thus our data suggest that, NIDDM in the Japanese population, the S2 allele, S2S2, M2M2 genotype, S2S2M2M2 haplotype may serve as a genetic marker for hypertriglyceridemia