Association of the KLF14 rs4731702 SNP and Serum Lipid Levels in the Guangxi Mulao and Han Populations

The objective of the present study was to detect the association of the rs4731702 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and serum lipid levels in the Guangxi Mulao and Han populations. A total of 727 subjects of Mulao and 740 subjects of Han Chinese were included. Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein (Apo) B levels were higher in Mulao than in Han (P < 0.05). The T allele carriers had higher serum LDL-C and ApoAI levels in Mulao, whereas they had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and ratio of ApoAI to ApoB in Han (P < 0.05) than the T allele noncarriers. Subgroup analyses showed that the T allele carriers had higher HDL-C, LDL-C, and ApoAI levels in Mulao males and lower ApoAI levels and ratio of ApoAI to ApoB in Han males than the T allele noncarriers. The subjects with TT genotype in Han females also had higher total cholesterol, LDL-C, ApoAI, and ApoB levels than the subjects with CT or CC genotype. Serum lipid parameters were also correlated with several environmental factors in both ethnic groups. The differences in the association of KLF14 rs4731702 SNP and serum lipid levels between the two ethnic groups might partly result from different gene-environmental interactions.