The effect of APOA5 and APOC3 variants on lipid parameters in European Whites, Indian Asians and Afro-Caribbeans with type 2 diabetes

Common variants in APOA5 and APOC3 have been associated with differences in plasma triglyceride (TG) levels in healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the association of APOA5 (− 1131T > C, S19W) and APOC3 (− 482C > T, 1100C > T) polymorphisms in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) of European White (EW) ( n = 931), Indian Asian (IA) ( n = 610) and Afro-Caribbean (AC) ( n = 167) origin, with lipid and T2D parameters. Rare allele frequencies and linkage disequilibrium differed significantly amongst ethnic groups. Compared to APOA5 − 1131T and 19S homozygotes, − 1131C and 19W carriers had higher TGs in all groups, but this effect was only statistically significant for the − 1131C in the EWs ( P = 0.04) and 19W in the IAs ( P APOC3 SNPs showed no significant association with lipid levels in any ethnic group. While haplotypes carrying − 1131C allele showed significant TG-raising in the EWs only, the 19W defined haplotype showed significant TG-raising in both IAs and EWs. Comparing all four SNPs in EW T2D subjects with healthy EWs ( n = 2579), the APOC3 1100C > T frequency was significantly higher in T2D [0.26 (0.24, 0.28)] vs. healthy EWs [0.22 (0.20, 0.23)], P = 0.001. While the variable size effects of the two APOA5 SNPs on TG levels may result from ethnically different gene–gene or gene–environment interactions, APOA5 and APOC3 variants did not affect parameters of T2D. However, comparison between EWs with T2D and healthy EWs suggest APOC3 1100C > T is associated with increased risk of diabetes probably through mechanisms other than direct effects on TG.