Genetic factors that modify the expression of type III hyperlipidemia in probands with apolipoprotein E ε2/2 genotype

Evaluation of: Henneman P, van der Sman-de Beer FS, Moghaddam PH et al.: The expression of type III hyperlipoproteinemia: involvement of lipolysis genes. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. DOI: 10.1038/ejhg.2008.202 (2008) (Epub ahead of print). Type III hyperlipidemia (HLP) is characterized by elevated and approximately equal levels of plasma triglycerides and cholesterol, and sufferers are at an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. The condition is associated with homozygosity for the e2 allele of the APOE gene. However, only approximately 10% of e2 homozygotes develop HLP, implying that additional genetic and/or environmental factors are necessary for its expression. In the evaluated paper, Henneman and colleagues from Leiden University Medical Center report on the role of variation in a number of genes associated with lipolysis and the expression of type III HLP. They present evidence that common variants in the APOA5, APOC3 and lipoprotein lipase genes are associated with type III HLP whereas variants in h...