Association of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein– Taq IB Polymorphism With Variations in Lipoprotein Subclasses and Coronary Heart Disease Risk

Abstract

—Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) facilitates the exchange of triglycerides and cholesteryl esters between lipoprotein particles, a key step in reverse cholesterol transport in humans. Variations at the CETP locus have been shown to be determinants of the levels and activity of CETP and high density lipoprotein (HDL) plasma concentration. The associations of the common CETP polymorphism, TaqIB in intron 1, with lipoprotein levels and particle size distribution, CETP activity, and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk were examined in a population-based sample of 1411 men and 1505 women from the Framingham Offspring Study. The B2 allele frequency was 0.444 in men and 0.433 in women, and its presence was significantly (P<0.05) associated with decreased CETP activity. B1B1 men had lower HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (1.07 mmol/L) compared with B1B2 (1.14 mmol/L) and B2B2 (1.18 mmol/L) men (P<0.001). Likewise, B1B1 women had lower HDL-C levels (1.40 mmol/L) compared with B1B2 (1.46 mmol/L) and B...