Development of a PCR method for the detection of polymorphism of apolipoprotein E gene / Nur Farhana Mohamed Noor

Apo E gene plays an important role in producing apolipoprotein E that serves as a ligand for uptake by lipoprotein receptor so that cholesterol can be removed from the body. Screening of Apo E gene is important before starting drug therapy as different patient will act differently to the statin therapy. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a PCR method for detection of polymorphism of apo E gene. Allele specific PCR together with nested PCR have been used. Two separate amplification are used. First PCR used a set of primers that yield a large product which was used as a template in the second PCR to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of DNA. The PCR was conducted under different annealing temperature to determine the optimal annealing temperature which is 61 °C for the first PCR and 57.6°C for the second PCR.