Association of Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism with Susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system, with a complex<br />etiology that includes a strong genetic component. The contribution of the major histocompatibility complex<br />(MHC) has been established in numerous genetic linkage and association studies. In addition to the<br />MHC, the chromosome 19q13 region surrounding the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene has shown consistent<br />evidence of involvement in MS. In a cross-sectional study, to show differences in APOE allele frequencies<br />in multiple sclerosis compared with controls, we genotyped polymorphisms in four alleles namely; ε2, ε3 and<br />e4 alleles. This study was carried out on 81 patients with clinically definite MS and 93 asymptomatic,<br />randomly selected elderly volunteers. A significant difference was observed in the distribution of e4 allele<br />between patients with MS and controls (9.3% vs. 0.5%; χ2=15.2; df=2; p<0.001). This provides strong support for the association of MS with APOE ε4 allele.