The objective of the present study was to detect the association of the Trp316Ser variant (rs1801690) near the apolipoprotein H (β2-glycoprotein-I) gene and serum lipid levels in the Mulao and Han populations. A total of 879 subjects of Mulao and 844 subjects of Han Chinese were included. The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and ApoA1 in Mulao, and triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), ApoA1 and the ratio of ApoA1/ApoB in Han were different among the three genotypes of the rs1801690 SNP (P < 0.05-0.01). Subgroup analyses showed that the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, and ApoA1 in Mulao males; ApoA1 in Mulao females; TC, TG, HDL-C and ApoB and the ApoA1/ApoB ratio in Han males; and HDL-C, ApoA1 and the ApoA1/ApoB ratio in Han females were associated with the genotypes of rs1801690 (P < 0.05-0.001). Serum lipid parameters were also associated with several environmental factors (P < 0.05-0.001). The Trp316Ser variant (rs1801690) near the apolipoprotein H (β2-glycoprotein-I) gene was associated with some serum lipid parameters in the two ethnic groups, but the trends of association suggest that the Trp316Ser variant (rs1801690) near the apolipoprotein H (β2-glycoprotein-I) gene might have racial/ethnic-and/or gender-specificity.
Keywords: Lipids; apolipoprotein H; environmental factor; the Trp316Ser variant; β2-glycoprotein-I.