Screening of common genetic variants in the APOB gene related to familial hypercholesterolemia in a Saudi population: A case–control study

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a monogenic dominant inherited disorder of lipid metabolism characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein levels, and is mainly attributable to mutations in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), apolipoprotein B (APOB), and proportein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) genes. Next-generation and exome sequencing studies have primarily involved genome-wide association analyses, and meta-analyses and next-generation studies examined a few single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs151009667 and Val2095Glu) in the ApoB gene. The present study was conducted to investigate the association of APOB and patients with FH in a Saudi population. We genotyped 100 patients with FH and 100 controls for 2 polymorphisms in APOB using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, followed by 3% agarose gel electrophoresis. The strength of the association between the genotype and allele frequencies with the risk of developing FH was evaluated. Clinical details and genotype analysis results were recorded. For the rs151009667 polymorphism, 18% of the CT genotypes were observed only in patients with FH. There was a positive association between CT and CC (odds ratio [OR] 45.07 [95% conflict of interest (CI), 2.67–759.1]; P = .0001) and between T and C (OR 87.8 [95% CI, 5.34–144.2]; P < .0001). However, no Val2095Glu mutations were found in patients with FH or controls. There was also no correlation between clinical characteristics and the rs151009667 polymorphism. In conclusion, we confirmed the association between the rs151009667 polymorphism and FH in a Saudi population. The Val2095Glu novel variant did not appear in either patients with FH or controls. Similar studies should be performed in different ethnic populations to rule out the role of this polymorphism in FH.