[Apolipoprotein (a) polymorphism in relation to coronary heart disease in Chinese Han nationality].

We investigated the association of apolipoprotein (a) [apo(a)]polymorphism with coronary heart disease in Chinese Han nationality. The effects of the apo(a) phenotypes on lipoprotein [Lp (a)], total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and triglyceride (TG) levels were also investigated. The CHD group consisted of 105 patients (85 were survivors from previous myocardial infarction and 20 had > or = 75% narrowing in at least one of the major coronary arteries found by coronary angiography). The control group included 102 healthy individuals who had no symptoms and clinical signs of cardiovascular diseases. Apo(a) phenotype was performed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) under reducing conditions followed by immunoblotting. Determination of (a) Lp(a) and other lipoproteins were also performed. The apo(a) low molecular weight phenotypes (B, S1, S2) were more frequent in the CHD patients than in the healthy individuals (30.5% vs 15.7%, P < 0.05). Lp(a) concentrations were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls (257 +/- 225 mg/L vs 145 +/- 157 mg/L, P < 0.001). The results from stepwise logistic regression analysis indicated that apo(a) phenotype was a significant predictor of CHD, independent of TC, LDL-C and HDL-C. But apo(a) molecular weight was inversely related to Lp(a) levels. The apo(a) low molecular weight phenotypes associated with elevated Lp(a) levels was a primary genetic risk factor for CHD in Han Chinese.