Determination and use of haplotypes: ethnic comparison and association of the lipoprotein lipase gene and coronary artery disease in Mexican-Americans.

Abstract

To illustrate an approach of deriving haplotypes for genetic association studies, using the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene and coronary artery disease. Six polymorphisms sufficient to distinguish the most common haplotypes in the 3' end of LPL were identified by genotyping 10 polymorphisms in a small pilot population. These were used to haplotype LPL in large family samples of Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic Caucasians. A case-control association study was performed comparing Mexican-Americans with and without coronary artery disease. The two ethnic groups exhibited significant genetic differences. Among Mexican-Americans, homozygosity for LPL haplotype 1 was protective against coronary artery disease (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.91). This study outlines the haplotype structure of the LPL gene, illustrates the utility of haplotype-based analysis in association studies, and demonstrates the importance of defining haplotype frequencies for different ethnic groups.