Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery

BackgroundIt is widely recognized that the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) exhibits a significant association with dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The tortuous extracranial carotid artery (ECA) is a frequently encountered vascular morphological anomaly that may be associated...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jun-Wei Wang, Xin Li, Liu-Xi Lu, Jun-Lin Chen, Yong-Tao Yang, Ge Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1498613/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850189845995978752
author Jun-Wei Wang
Xin Li
Liu-Xi Lu
Jun-Lin Chen
Yong-Tao Yang
Ge Jin
author_facet Jun-Wei Wang
Xin Li
Liu-Xi Lu
Jun-Lin Chen
Yong-Tao Yang
Ge Jin
author_sort Jun-Wei Wang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundIt is widely recognized that the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) exhibits a significant association with dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The tortuous extracranial carotid artery (ECA) is a frequently encountered vascular morphological anomaly that may be associated to ischemic cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ApoE gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of ECA.MethodsThe clinical data and ApoE genetic test of inpatients who underwent head and neck DSA or CTA at our department between June 2020 and January 2024, were retrospectively analyzed. The tortuosity index (TI) of the ECA was measured and calculated. The included patients were analyzed using two grouping methods based on TI of the ECA: three groups determined by the tertile distribution and two groups based on the median distribution. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis were employed to investigate the correlation between ApoE genotypes and ECA tortuosity.ResultsA total of 238 patients were included in the study. The lowest tertile, the middle tertile and the highest tertile of TI distribution encompassed 91 cases (38.2%), 65 cases (27.3%) and 82 cases (34.5%) respectively. On the other hand, there were 127 cases (53.4%) in the low median group and 111 cases (46.6%) in the high median group. Due to the rarity of the three genotypes (ε2/ε2, n = 4; ε2/ε4, n = 1; ε4/ε4, n = 1), they were excluded for further statistical analysis. After adjusting for all covariates, the genotype ε3/ε4 continued to show an independent correlation with ECA tortuosity in the tertile groups (adjusted odds ratio = 0.469, 95% confidence interval: 0.242–0.969, p = 0.025). The Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between the TI of ECA and ApoE gene polymorphism (in sequential order: ε2/ε3, ε3/ε3, and ε3/ε4) (rS = − 0.149, p = 0.023).ConclusionOur study suggested that the ε2 allele may be associated with the increased tortuosity of ECA, whereas the ε4 allele may leads to be a protective factor. The ε3 allele, as the most prevalent wild-type in human, has not exert a significant influence on ECA tortuosity.
format Article
id doaj-art-e5e583376db949adb7f934b3fdc53fa3
institution OA Journals
issn 1664-2295
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Neurology
spelling doaj-art-e5e583376db949adb7f934b3fdc53fa32025-08-20T02:15:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952025-05-011610.3389/fneur.2025.14986131498613Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid arteryJun-Wei WangXin LiLiu-Xi LuJun-Lin ChenYong-Tao YangGe JinBackgroundIt is widely recognized that the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) exhibits a significant association with dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The tortuous extracranial carotid artery (ECA) is a frequently encountered vascular morphological anomaly that may be associated to ischemic cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ApoE gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of ECA.MethodsThe clinical data and ApoE genetic test of inpatients who underwent head and neck DSA or CTA at our department between June 2020 and January 2024, were retrospectively analyzed. The tortuosity index (TI) of the ECA was measured and calculated. The included patients were analyzed using two grouping methods based on TI of the ECA: three groups determined by the tertile distribution and two groups based on the median distribution. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis were employed to investigate the correlation between ApoE genotypes and ECA tortuosity.ResultsA total of 238 patients were included in the study. The lowest tertile, the middle tertile and the highest tertile of TI distribution encompassed 91 cases (38.2%), 65 cases (27.3%) and 82 cases (34.5%) respectively. On the other hand, there were 127 cases (53.4%) in the low median group and 111 cases (46.6%) in the high median group. Due to the rarity of the three genotypes (ε2/ε2, n = 4; ε2/ε4, n = 1; ε4/ε4, n = 1), they were excluded for further statistical analysis. After adjusting for all covariates, the genotype ε3/ε4 continued to show an independent correlation with ECA tortuosity in the tertile groups (adjusted odds ratio = 0.469, 95% confidence interval: 0.242–0.969, p = 0.025). The Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between the TI of ECA and ApoE gene polymorphism (in sequential order: ε2/ε3, ε3/ε3, and ε3/ε4) (rS = − 0.149, p = 0.023).ConclusionOur study suggested that the ε2 allele may be associated with the increased tortuosity of ECA, whereas the ε4 allele may leads to be a protective factor. The ε3 allele, as the most prevalent wild-type in human, has not exert a significant influence on ECA tortuosity.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1498613/fullApoEgene polymorphismtortuosityextracranial carotid arterycorrelation
spellingShingle Jun-Wei Wang
Xin Li
Liu-Xi Lu
Jun-Lin Chen
Yong-Tao Yang
Ge Jin
Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
Frontiers in Neurology
ApoE
gene polymorphism
tortuosity
extracranial carotid artery
correlation
title Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
title_full Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
title_fullStr Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
title_full_unstemmed Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
title_short Association between Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
title_sort association between apolipoprotein e gene polymorphism and the tortuosity of extracranial carotid artery
topic ApoE
gene polymorphism
tortuosity
extracranial carotid artery
correlation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1498613/full
work_keys_str_mv AT junweiwang associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery
AT xinli associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery
AT liuxilu associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery
AT junlinchen associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery
AT yongtaoyang associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery
AT gejin associationbetweenapolipoproteinegenepolymorphismandthetortuosityofextracranialcarotidartery