Association of lipase lipoprotein polymorphisms with high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides in elderly men.

Lipoprotein lipase is essential for triglyceride hydrolysis. The polymorphisms S447X in exon 9 and HindIII in intron 8 have been associated with lower triglyceride levels and lower cardiovascular risk in adult men. We examined the association of these lipoprotein lipase polymorphisms with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride levels in elderly men. Blood samples were obtained from 87 elderly men, 48 of whom had cardiovascular disease and 39 (controls) had no history of cardiovascular events. The lipoprotein lipase polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Allele frequencies were H- = 27.9% and X = 21.5%. There were no significant differences in allele frequencies or blood lipid levels between cardiovascular disease and control groups. However, the X allele was associated with a lower triglyceride/HDL ratio, 2.30 vs 3.02 for X allele absent (P = 0.03); the H-X haplotype was associated with lower triglyceride levels compared to the H+S haplotype (1.22 vs 1.58 mM, respectively) and a lower triglyceride/HDL ratio (2.29 vs 3.26, respectively). The X allele and H-X haplotype were associated with lower triglyceride/HDL ratios in these elderly men, independent of the history of cardiovascular events.

Association of lipase lipoprotein polymorphisms with high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides in elderly men.

Lipoprotein lipase is essential for triglyceride hydrolysis. The polymorphisms S447X in exon 9 and HindIII in intron 8 have been associated with lower triglyceride levels and lower cardiovascular risk in adult men. We examined the association of these lipoprotein lipase polymorphisms with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride levels in elderly men. Blood samples were obtained from 87 elderly men, 48 of whom had cardiovascular disease and 39 (controls) had no history of cardiovascular events. The lipoprotein lipase polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Allele frequencies were H- = 27.9% and X = 21.5%. There were no significant differences in allele frequencies or blood lipid levels between cardiovascular disease and control groups. However, the X allele was associated with a lower triglyceride/HDL ratio, 2.30 vs 3.02 for X allele absent (P = 0.03); the H-X haplotype was associated with lower triglyceride levels compared to the H+S haplotype (1.22 vs 1.58 mM, respectively) and a lower triglyceride/HDL ratio (2.29 vs 3.26, respectively). The X allele and H-X haplotype were associated with lower triglyceride/HDL ratios in these elderly men, independent of the history of cardiovascular events.

A molecular model for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Genes implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) important in cognition and behavior may have convergent function and several cellular pathways have been implicated, including protein translational control, chromatin modification, and synapse assembly and maintenance. Here, we test the convergent effects of methyl-CpG binding domain 5 (MBD5) and special AT-rich binding protein 2 (SATB2) reduced dosage in human neural stem cells (NSCs), two genes implicated in 2q23.1 and 2q33.1 deletion syndromes, respectively, to develop a generalized model for NDDs. We used short hairpin RNA stably incorporated into healthy neural stem cells to supress MBD5 and SATB2 expression, and massively parallel RNA sequencing, DNA methylation sequencing and microRNA arrays to test the hypothesis that a primary etiology of NDDs is the disruption of the balance of NSC proliferation and differentiation. We show that reduced dosage of either gene leads to significant overlap of gene-expression patterns, microRNA patterns and DNA methylation states with control NSCs in a differentiating state, suggesting that a unifying feature of 2q23.1 and 2q33.1 deletion syndrome may be a lack of regulation between proliferation and differentiation in NSCs, as we observed previously for TCF4 and EHMT1 suppression following a similar experimental paradigm. We propose a model of NDDs whereby the balance of NSC proliferation and differentiation is affected, but where the molecules that drive this effect are largely specific to disease-causing genetic variation. NDDs are diverse, complex and unique, but the optimal balance of factors that determine when and where neural stem cells differentiate may be a major feature underlying the diverse phenotypic spectrum of NDDs.