Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with maximal oxygen uptake after exercise training: a study of Chinese young adult

BACKGROUND: Although a few studies have been conducted, it is still unclear whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism is associated with maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) after exercise training. The objective of this study was to examine if the APOE gene polymorphisms affect VO(2max) after exercise training in Chinese young adult. METHODS: A total of 360 Chinese young adult (180 male and 180 female) were recruited into this gender-specific cohorts. Anthropometrics, serum lipids, and VO(2max) were measured pre and post 6 months of supervised exercise training. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was applied to assess the APOE gene polymorphisms. RESULTS: VO(2max) after exercise training increased significantly higher in carriers of E2/E3 in male [odds ratio (OR) =0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04, 1.32; P = 0.04] and female (OR =0.62, 95% CI = 0.05, 1.18; P = 0.03). VO(2max) after exercise training increased significantly higher in carriers of E3/E4 in male (OR =0.60, 95% CI = 0.09, 1.11; P = 0.02) and female (OR =0.62, 95% CI = 0.09, 1.15; P = 0.02). No significant differences were found in carriers of E2/E2, E2/E4, E3/E3, E4/E4 in either male nor female. CONCLUSION: Our study found that APOE gene polymorphism was associated with VO(2max) levels after exercise training in Chinese young adult. In the future, further experiments will be necessary to confirm this finding and to find the possible mechanism.