D25V apolipoprotein C-III variant causes dominant hereditary systemic amyloidosis and confers cardiovascular protective lipoprotein profile

Apolipoprotein C-III deficiency provides cardiovascular protection, but apolipoprotein C-III is not known to be associated with human amyloidosis. Here we report a form of amyloidosis characterized by renal insufficiency caused by a new apolipoprotein C-III variant, D25V. Despite their uremic state, the D25V-carriers exhibit low triglyceride (TG) and apolipoprotein C-III levels, and low very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/high high-density lipoprotein (HDL) profile. Amyloid fibrils comprise the D25V-variant only, showing that wild-type apolipoprotein C-III does not contribute to amyloid deposition in vivo. The mutation profoundly impacts helical structure stability of D25V-variant, which is remarkably fibrillogenic under physiological conditions in vitro producing typical amyloid fibrils in its lipid-free form. D25V apolipoprotein C-III is a new human amyloidogenic protein and the first conferring cardioprotection even in the unfavourable context of renal failure, extending the evidence for an important cardiovascular protective role of apolipoprotein C-III deficiency. Thus, fibrate therapy, which reduces hepatic APOC3 transcription, may delay amyloid deposition in affected patients

Apolipoprotein C-I is an <it>APOE</it> genotype-dependent suppressor of glial activation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inheritance of the human ϵ4 allele of the apolipoprotein (apo) E gene (<it>APOE</it>) significantly increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), in addition to adversely influencing clinical outcomes of other neurologic diseases. While apoE isoforms differentially interact with amyloid β (Aβ), a pleiotropic neurotoxin key to AD etiology, more recent work has focused on immune regulation in AD pathogenesis and on the mechanisms of innate immunomodulatory effects associated with inheritance of different <it>APOE</it> alleles. <it>APOE</it> genotype modulates expression of proximal genes including <it>APOC1</it>, which encodes a small apolipoprotein that is associated with Aβ plaques. Here we tested the hypothesis that <it>APOE</it>-genotype dependent innate immunomodulation may be mediated in part by apoC-I.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>ApoC-I concentration in cerebrospinal fluid from control subjects of differing <it>APOE</it> genotypes was quantified by ELISA. Real-time PCR and ELISA were used to analyze apoC-I mRNA and protein expression, respectively, in liver, serum, cerebral cortex, and cultured primary astrocytes derived from mice with targeted replacement of murine APOE for human <it>APOE</it> ϵ3 or ϵ4. ApoC-I direct modulation of innate immune activity was investigated in cultured murine primary microglia and astrocytes, as well as human differentiated macrophages, using specific toll-like receptor agonists LPS and PIC as well as Aβ.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ApoC-I levels varied with <it>APOE</it> genotype in humans and in <it>APOE</it> targeted replacement mice, with ϵ4 carriers showing significantly less apoC-I in both species. ApoC-I potently reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion from primary murine microglia and astrocytes, and human macrophages, stimulated with LPS, PIC, or Aβ.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>ApoC-I is immunosuppressive. Our results illuminate a novel potential mechanism for <it>APOE</it> genotype risk for AD; one in which patients with an ϵ4 allele have decreased expression of apoC-I resulting in increased innate immune activity.</p

Evidence for a QTL on chromosome 19 influencing LDL cholesterol levels in the general population

The genetic basis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with its complex etiology is still largely elusive. Plasma levels of lipids and apolipoproteins are among the major quantitative risk factors for CVD and are well-established intermediate traits that may be more accessible to genetic dissection than clinical CVD end points. Chromosome 19 harbors multiple genes that have been suggested to play a role in lipid metabolism and previous studies indicated the presence of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for cholesterol levels in genetic isolates. To establish the relevance of genetic variation at chromosome 19 for plasma levels of lipids and apolipoproteins in the general, out-bred Caucasian population, we performed a linkage study in four independent samples, including adolescent Dutch twins and adult Dutch, Swedish and Australian twins totaling 493 dizygotic twin pairs. The average spacing of short-tandem-repeat markers was 6 - 8 cM. In the three adult twin samples, we found consistent evidence for linkage of chromosome 19 with LDL cholesterol levels ( maximum LOD scores of 4.5, 1.7 and 2.1 in the Dutch, Swedish and Australian sample, respectively); no indication for linkage was observed in the adolescent Dutch twin sample. The QTL effects in the three adult samples were not significantly different and a simultaneous analysis of the samples increased the maximum LOD score to 5.7 at 60 cM pter. Bivariate analyses indicated that the putative LDL-C QTL also contributed to the variance in ApoB levels, consistent with the high genetic correlation between these phenotypes. Our study provides strong evidence for the presence of a QTL on chromosome 19 with a major effect on LDL-C plasma levels in outbred Caucasian populations