We investigated the relationship between lipid binding glycoprotein apolipoprotein E (apoE; gene APOE) polymorphisms (ε4 allele carriers versus no carriers = ε4+/ε4−) and trace elements (TEs) (e.g., (methyl)mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, selenium, manganese, copper, and zinc) in mothers (N = 223) and their new-borns (N = 213) exposed to potentially toxic metal(loid)s from seafood consumption. The apoE isoform encoded by the ε4 allele is believed to have beneficial effects in early life but represents a risk factor for age-associated diseases. Under certain conditions ε4 carriers are more susceptible to oxidative stress and metal(loid) toxicity. DNA from Croatian pregnant women (N = 223, third trimester) and their new-borns (N = 176), was genotyped for APOE by TaqMan® SNP assay – rs429358 and rs7412. Seafood intake data and TE levels in maternal urine, milk, hair, peripheral venous blood, mixed cord blood, and new-borns’ urine were available from previous studies. We compared TEs between ε4+ and ε4− carriers using Mann-Whitney U tests and applied multiple linear regression models to analyse the TE’s dependence on the presence of allele ε4 (genotypes ε3/ε4, ε4/ε4) in combination with other explanatory variables. We identified 17% (n = 37) and 20% (n = 35) ε4 allele carriers in mothers and new-borns, respectively. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that mothers with the ε4 allele had significantly higher mean levels of (methyl)mercury in peripheral venous blood, cord blood, and hair; arsenic in urine and cord blood; and selenium in peripheral venous blood and plasma. However, taking confounders into account, only the maternal plasma selenium remained statistically significant in the linear regression models (ε4 carriers vs non-carriers: 62.6 vs 54.9 ng/mL, p < 0.001). Literature suggestions of possible ε4 allele impact on Hg levels were not observed, while superior selenium status observed in healthy pregnant women carrying allele ε4 could be linked to the proposed APOE ε4 beneficial effects early in life.

我们研究了脂质结合糖蛋白载脂蛋白E（apoE;基因APOE）多态性（ε4等位基因携带者与无携带者=  ε4+ /ε4-）和微量元素（TEs）（例如（甲基）汞，砷，铅，镉，母亲（N = 223）和他们的新生儿（N = 213）中的硒，锰，铜和锌）暴露于食用海产品时潜在的有毒金属（金属）。据信由ε4等位基因编码的apoE同工型在生命早期具有有益作用，但代表了与年龄有关的疾病的危险因素。在某些条件下ε4载体对氧化应激和金属（金属）毒性更敏感。通过TaqMan®SNP分析– rs429358和rs7412 ，对来自克罗地亚孕妇（N = 223，中晚期）和其新生儿（N = 176）的DNA进行APOE基因分型。从先前的研究中可以得到海鲜摄入量数据以及孕妇尿液，牛奶，头发，外周静脉血，脐带血和新生儿尿液中的TE水平。我们使用Mann-Whitney U检验比较了ε4+和ε4−携带者之间的TE，并应用多元线性回归模型分析了TE对等位基因ε4（基因型ε3/ε4，ε4/ε4）的依赖性）与其他说明变量结合使用。我们分别在母亲和新生儿中鉴定出17％（n = 37）和20％（n = 35）ε4等位基因携带者。Mann-Whitney U检验显示，具有ε4等位基因的母亲的外周静脉血，脐带血和头发中的（甲基）汞平均水平显着较高。尿和脐带血中的砷；和外周静脉血和血浆中的硒。但是，考虑到混杂因素，在线性回归模型中，仅母体血浆硒在统计学上仍具有统计学意义（ε4携带者与非携带者：62.6 vs 54.9 ng / mL，p <0.001）。可能的ε4的文献建议没有观察到等位基因对汞水平的影响，而健康的携带等位基因ε4的孕妇中观察到的优异硒状态可能与生命早期提出的APOEε4有益作用有关。