Association between the LPL-D9N mutation in the lipoprotein lipase gene and plasma lipid traits in myocardial infarction survivors from the ECTIM study

Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques, we have identified individuals in the ECTIM study of myocardial infarction survivors (cases) and healthy matched controls who are carriers for a mutation of the gene for lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which alters amino acid 9 from aspartic acid to asparagine (LPL-D9N). The frequency of carriers in the cases from Belfast and France (3 separate centres) was 2.5 and 3.7%, respectively (mean 3.3%, 95% CI 1.9-4.7) and in the controls 2.0 and 2.9%, respectively (mean 2.7%, 95% CI 1.6-3.8%), but this difference was not statistically significant. In the cases, carriers of the allele for LPL-N9 had higher levels of several plasma lipid traits including total triglycerides (TG) (30%), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol (19%), apo E (24%), apo C-III (17%): lipoprotein particles (Lp) containing both apo E and apo B (LpE:B) (32%), and particles containing both apo C-III and apo B (LpCIII:B) (39%), and this effect was consistent in cases both from Belfast and from the French centres combined. By contrast, in the controls there were no differences in any lipid trait between carriers and non-carriers of the mutation that was consistent between the French centres and Belfast. There were no significant differences in the levels of any measured factor between cases and controls that could explain the different effect on plasma lipid traits associated with the mutation. However, compared to the non-carriers, in both cases and controls who carried the mutation, plasma TG concentrations were higher in those whose body mass index (BMI) was above the mean of the sample (26.0 kg/m(2)), with statistically significant interaction seen between BMI and genotype and levels of apo C-III, and lipoprotein particles containing both apo C-III and apo B (P < 0.02). The data suggest that carriers for the LPL-N9 mutation have a mild genetic predisposition to developing hyperlipidaemia and an atherogenic lipid profile, but that this requires the presence of other generic or environmental factors for full expression, one of which appears to be increasing obesity.