Association of Apolipoprotein C3 Genetic Polymorphisms with the Risk of Ischemic Stroke in the Northern Chinese Han Population

The apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) gene, which is a member of the APOA1/C3/A4/A5 gene cluster, plays a crucial role in lipid metabolism. Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor for ischemic stroke. In the present study, we performed a hospital-based case-control study of 895 ischemic stroke patients and 883 control subjects to examine the effects of four APOC3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs2854116, rs2854117, rs4520 and rs5128) on the risk of ischemic stroke in a northern Chinese Han population. The SNaPshot Multiplex sequencing assay was used for SNP genotyping, and the potential association of genotype distributions and allele frequencies with ischemic stroke was analyzed statistically. Compared with the GG genotype, the CC+GC genotype of rs5128 was significantly associated with an increased risk in females (adjusted OR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.82-6.28, P < 0.01) after all of the risk factors were adjusted for with logistic regression analyses. A similar relationship was found between the rs4520 polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk in Han Chinese women. Under a recessive genetic model, the TT+TC genotypes of this variant increased ischemic stroke risk (adjusted OR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.28-3.29; P < 0.01). Haplotype analysis revealed that in males, the T-C-T-C haplotype of rs2854116-rs2854117-rs4520-rs5128 was significantly more frequent in the ischemic stroke group than in the control group (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.18-1.87, P < 0.01). The results of our study indicate that the APOC3 polymorphisms contribute to ischemic stroke susceptibility in females in the northern Chinese Han population.