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

Background and aims: the 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 Cuiaba city, Mato Grosso Brazil as well as to characterize risk factors for morbidities and conditions affecting this cohort.Methods: the studied population consisted of 570 subjects from Cuiaba 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 (R) allelic discrimination assay were used for genotyping.Results: the frequencies of APOE epsilon 2 and epsilon 4 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 epsilon 2 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.Conclusions: the 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. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso (FAPEMAT)Universidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Morfol & Genet, Discipline Genet, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Cuiaba, UNIC, Fac Med, Unidade Genet, Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, BrazilUniv Fed Mato Grosso, Fac Ciencias Med, Dept Ciencias Basicas Saude, Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Morfol & Genet, Discipline Genet, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc