Ethnic differences in hepatic lipase and HDL in Japanese, Black and White Americans: Role of central obesity and LIPC polymorphisms

Molly C. Carr, John D. Brunzell, and Samir S. Deeb

Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-6426

Corresponding Author: carr{at}u.washington.edu

Hepatic lipase activity (HLA) is a determinant of HDL levels and a polymorphism in the HL gene (LIPC) promoter (C-514T) has been hypothesized to account for higher HDL in Blacks and Japanese compared to Whites. To determine whether the polymorphism contributes to ethnic differences in HDL, we compared LIPC allele frequencies and HLA in Japanese (JA)(n=84), Black (BA)(n=94) and White (WA)(n=110) American men and women. The LIPC polymorphism was associated with HLA in all cohorts (BA:p=0.012, JA:p=0.008, WA:p=0.009). White men had 49% and 58% higher HLA than the Black and JA men (both p<0.05), yet no differences in HLA between the women. The higher HLA in the White men remained after adjustment for the LIPC polymorphism’s effect on HLA (p=0.037) but was erased after adjustment for waist-to-hip-ratio (p=0.46). While the White men had lower HDL and HDL3 than the JA and Black men (all p<0.05), there were no differences in HDL2, implying that variance in HLA may not underlie the ethnic differences in HDL levels. These results suggest that 1) The LIPC promoter polymorphism contributes to variation in HLA and HDL2 in the three ethnic groups. 2) White men had higher HLA than Black and JA men, related to ethnic differences in central adiposity but not LIPC allele frequency. 3) The higher HLA in White men did not contribute to the ethnic differences in HDL, as the differences in HDL were made up entirely of differences in HDL3 and not HDL2.

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