A pentanucleotide repeat polymorphism (TTTTA) in the apolipoprotein (a) gene--its distribution and its association with the risk of cardiovascular disease

Apolipoprotein (a) is a component of lipoprotein (a). Several studies have shown the association between risk of coronary heart diseases and the size of apo(a) isoforms, although this issue is still controversial. Recent researches focused the attention on the pentanucleotide (TTTTA), highlighting a statistical correlation between low Lp(a) levels and high repeat numbers. In the present paper we studied the distribution of the apo(a) pentanucleotide polymorphism among populations from Corsica, and we then compared it with other populations from Europe, Africa and Asia. The results stressed out the usefulness of these markers in population genetics analysis. We later investigated the possible association of the apo(a) pentanucleotide polymorphism with serum lipid levels in two samples from Corsica (France): one comprises patients or individuals with high risk of future coronary heart disease and the other is a control sample. No significant differences between the two groups have been found, but the analysis of variance showed a significant association between different genotypes and cholesterol and LDL serum levels.