Research Article

APOE genotypes in Lebanon: distribution and association with hypercholesterolemia and Alzheimer's disease

*Author for correspondence: Tel.: +961 130 0110 Ext: 2721;

E-mail Address: s.elshamieh@bau.edu.lb

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon

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Christy Costanian^‡

School of Kinesiology & Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON M3J1P3, Canada

^‡Authors contributed equally

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Rayan Kassir^‡

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon

^‡Authors contributed equally

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Sophie Visvkis-Siest

Université de Lorraine, Inserm, IGE-PCV, F-54000 Nancy, France

Department of Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, CHU Technopôle Nancy-Brabois, Rue du Morvan, 54511, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France

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Nisrine Bissar-Tadmouri

**Author for correspondence: Tel.: +961 621 8400 Ext: 4402;

E-mail Address: n.bissar@bau.edu.lb

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon

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Published Online:20 Nov 2018https://doi.org/10.2217/pme-2018-0067

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Abstract

Aim: We first investigated the distribution of APOE genotypes in Lebanese general population and Alzheimer's disease study (ADS) groups, and compared it with 1000 genomes populations. Then, we assessed eventual association between APOE genotypes, hypercholesterolemia and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Materials & methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 591 individuals. Clinical and biological data were collected, DNA was extracted and genotyped using Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP™) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphis (PCR-RFLP). Results: Prevalence of APOE genotypes in Lebanon was similar to that seen in Asian populations. APOE genotypes were not associated with hypercholesterolemia. A significant difference between APOE genotypes in AD cases versus controls and versus Lebanese general population was seen. Moreover, E4 allele was approximately threefold higher in Alzheimer's disease study patients when compared with the remaining individuals. Conclusion: We established the distribution of APOE genotypes in the Lebanon and showed that in contrast to lipid profile, E4 correlates with AD.

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References

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Vol. 16, No. 1

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History

Received 16 June 2018

Accepted 17 October 2018

Published online 20 November 2018

Published in print January 2019

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the study participants and their families for their time and effort to help create the present study. They would like to thank also all the field investigators for the recruitment and examinations of the populations involved in this study namely N. Mohsen, N. Naja and N Ramadan.

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