Background: Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a kind of apolipoprotein. Several studies indicated that SAA genetic polymorphism rs12218 was associated with carotid atherosclerosis, peripheral arterial disease, and serum uric acid levels. However, the relation between rs12218 and lipid levels remains unclear. This study assessed the correlation between SAA1 gene rs12218 polymorphism and lipid levels in a Chinese population.
Methods: A total of 823 participants were selected from the subjects for health check in Shanghai Huashan hospital from Jan. 2013 to Mach. 2013. Correlations between rs12218 polymorphism and lipid levels were investigated through the identification of rs12218 genotypes using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).
Results: We found that the SNP rs12218 was associated with triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) levels by analyses of a dominant model (P<0.001, P=0.002, P=0.003, respectively), a recessive model (P<0.001, P=0.001, P=0.005, respectively) and an additive model (P<0.001, P=0.001, P=0.002, respectively), and the difference remained significant after the adjustment of sex, age, alcohol intake, and smoking (All P<0.01).
Conclusion: Our results indicated that the rs12218 in the SAA1gene was associated with lipid levels in a Chinese population.