Effect of apolipoprotein C3 and apolipoprotein A1 polymorphisms on postprandial response to a fat overload in metabolic syndrome patients

Objectives Apolipoprotein C-III (APOC3) is a component of triglyceride rich lipoproteins, and SstI polymorphism has been associated with hypertriglyceridemia. Apolipoprotein A-I (APOA1) is the major component of HDL and MspI polymorphism has been associated with APOA1 and HDL-C levels. Thus, we study the influence of these polymorphisms in the postprandial response in metabolic syndrome (MS). Design and methods 73 MS patients and 21 healthy subjects underwent a fat overload, with measurements of their fasting and postprandial lipid profile. The APOC3 SstI and the APOA1 MspI polymorphisms were genotyped. Results No significant differences were found in the lipid profile with respect to the MspI genotype. Patients with the S2S2 APOC3 genotype had significantly higher fasting and postprandial triglyceride levels and postprandial APOC3 and chylomicron-triglyceride levels compared with the other SstI APOC3 genotypes. Conclusions Homozygosity for the minor allele of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism was associated to a worse postprandial response in MS patients.