Apolipoprotein C-III Levels and Incident Coronary Artery Disease Risk: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study

Julian C. van Capelleveen, Sophie J. Bernelot Moens, Xiaohong Yang, John J. P. Kastelein, Nicholas J. Wareham, Aeilko H. Zwinderman, Erik S. G. Stroes, Joseph L. Witztum, G. Kees Hovingh, Kay-Tee Khaw, S. Matthijs Boekholdt, Sotirios Tsimikas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) is a key regulator of triglyceride metabolism. Elevated triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and apoC-III levels are causally linked to coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. The mechanism(s) through which apoC-III increases CAD risk remains largely unknown. The aim was to confirm the association between apoC-III plasma levels and CAD risk and to explore which lipoprotein subfractions contribute to this relationship between apoC-III and CAD risk. Plasma apoC-III levels were measured in baseline samples from a nested case-control study in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study. The study comprised 2711 apparently healthy study participants, of whom 832 subsequently developed CAD. We studied the association of baseline apoC-III levels with incident CAD risk, lipoprotein subfractions measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and inflammatory biomarkers. ApoC-III levels were significantly associated with CAD risk (odds ratio, 1.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-2.48 for highest compared with lowest quintile), retaining significance after adjustment for traditional CAD risk factors (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.94). ApoC-III levels were positively correlated with triglyceride levels, (r=0.39), particle numbers of very-low-density lipoprotein (r=0.25), intermediate-density lipoprotein (r=0.23), small dense low-density lipoprotein (r=0.26), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r=0.15), whereas an inverse correlation was observed with large low-density lipoprotein particle number (r=-0.11), P <0.001 for each. Mediation analysis indicated that the association between apoC-III and CAD risk could be explained by triglyceride elevation (triglyceride, very-low-density lipoprotein, and intermediate-density lipoprotein particles), small low-density lipoprotein particle size, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. ApoC-III levels are significantly associated with incident CAD risk. Elevated levels of remnant lipoproteins, small dense low-density lipoprotein, and low-grade inflammation may explain this association
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1206-1212
JournalArteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
Volume37
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Cite this