PREVALENCE OF ANGPTL3 AND APOB GENE MUTATIONS IN SUBJECTS WITH COMBINED HYPOLIPIDEMIA

Introduction. Mutations of the ANGPTL3 gene have been found responsible for a novel form of primary hypobetalipoproteinemia (pHBL), the combined hypolipidemia, characterized by low total cholesterol (TC) and low HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. The aim of this work is to define the role of ANGPTL3 gene as determinant of the combined hypolipidemia phenotype in two large cohorts of 913 American and Italian subjects with primary hypobetalipoproteinemia (TC <5th percentile). Materials and Methods. The cut-offs adopted to define the combined hypolipidemia phenotype were chosen taking into account the TC and HDL-C levels reported in the ANGPTL3 kindred described to date and are as follows: TC leve…