Genetic studies of human apolipoproteins: XII. Population genetics of apolipoproteins in Papua New Guinea

The gene products of the apolipoprotein A-I, A-II, A-IV, C-II, C-III, D, E and H loci have been screened by isoelectric focusing followed by immunoblotting from two Papua New Guinean populations, the Huli and the Pawaia. Only APO E and APO H revealed common polymorphisms. A putative unique A-IV variant has been identified, but due to the lack of family data it is not characterized further. Three common APO H alleles were observed in both groups with comparable frequencies. But significantly different distributions of three APO E alleles were noted in the Huli and the Pawaia. The respective frequencies of the APO E*2, APO E*3, and APO E*4 alleles were 0.154, 0.356, and 0.490 in the Huli and 0.138, 0.603, and 0.259 in the Pawaia. A strikingly high frequency of the APO E*4 allele in Papua New Guinea may provide a useful insight into the studies of genetic and environmental interactions in controlling the cholesterol levels in the general population.