1022-7954/04/4009- © 2004 MAIK “Nauka /Interperiodica” 1062 Russian Journal of Genetics, Vol. 40, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1062–1063. From Genetika, Vol. 40, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1293–1295. Original English Text Copyright © 2004 by Koivu, Uibu, Roto, Fan, Lehtinen, Jokela, Ehnholm, Nikkari, Lehtimäki. Apolipoprotein E and A-IV Polymorphisms in Ethnic Russians Living in Estonia* T. A. Koivu 1, 2 , T. Uibu 1 , P. Roto 4 , Y.-M. Fan 1, 2 , S. Lehtinen 1, 5 , H. Jokela 1 , C. Ehnholm 6 , S. T. Nikkari 3 , and T. Lehtimäki 1, 2 1 Laboratory of Atherosclerosis Genetics, Center for Laboratory Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000, FIN-33521, Tampere, Finland; fax: 358-33117-4168; e-mail: loyufa@uta.fi 2 Tampere University Medical School, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Tampere, Finland 3 Department of Medical Biochemistry, Tampere, Finland 4 Tampere Regional Institute of Occupational Health, Tampere, Finland 5 Department of Internal Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, Finland 6 National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland Received January 26, 2004 Abstract—To determine the distribution of genetic variations in apolipoprotein E (apoE) and apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) genes, 137 Russians living in Estonia was screened by isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting procedures. The apoA-IV-2 allele and apoE ε4 allele frequency of the Russians tended to be lower than in most other European populations. SHORT COMMUNICATIONS * This article was submitted by the authors in English. ApoA-IV and apoE phenotype distributions and allele frequencies in Estonian Russians Observed Expected N % N % apoA-IV phenotypes A-IV 1/1 116 92.8 116.1 92.9 A-IV 2/1 9 7.2 8.7 7.0 A-IV 2/2 0 0 0.2 0.1 Alleles A-IV-1 0.964 0.964 A-IV-2 0.036 0.036 apoE phenotypes E2/2 2 1.5 1.3 0.95 E3/2 20 14.6 21.1 15.4 E4/2 2 1.5 2.5 1.8 E3/3 92 67.2 89.7 65.5 E4/3 18 13.1 21.1 9.6 E4/4 3 2.2 1.3 0.95 Alleles ε2 0.096 0.096 ε3 0.808 0.808 ε4 0.096 0.096 Note: There are no significant differences between observed and expected (χ 2 -test, ns) in apoE phenotype or apoA-IV distributions or allele frequencies. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) and apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) are genetically polymorphic with distinct variation in allele frequencies in different ethnic groups around the world [1–3]. The genetic variation of apoE affects plasma cholesterol levels (1) and contributes to the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) [4–7] and Alzheimer’s disease [8, 9], whereas the apoA-IV allele seems to have an effect on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in some isolated populations [10, 11]. The aim of genetic studies concerning these apolipo-