Apolipoprotein A-V is a protein that in humans is encoded by the APOA5 gene on chromosome 11. It is significantly expressed in liver. The protein encoded by this gene is an apolipoprotein and an important determinant of plasma triglyceride levels, a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. It is a component of several lipoprotein fractions including VLDL, HDL, chylomicrons. It is believed that apoA-V affects lipoprotein metabolism by interacting with LDL-R gene family receptors. Considering its association with lipoprotein levels, APOA5 is implicated in metabolic syndrome. The APOA5 gene also contains one of 27 SNPs associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease. Discovery The gene for apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5, gene ID 116519, OMIM accession number – 606368) was originally found by comparative sequencing of human and mice DNA as a last member of the gene cluster of apolipoproteins APOA1/APOC3/APOA4/APOA5, located on human chromosome 11 at position 11q23. The creation of two mice models (APOA5 transgenic and APOA5 knock-out) confirmed the important role of this gene in plasma triglyceride determination. The transgenic mice had lower and the knock-out mice higher levels of plasma triglycerides, while plasma cholesterol levels remained unchanged in both animal models. A Dutch group simultaneously described an identical gene as apolipoprotein which it is associated with the early phase of liver regeneration, but failed to recognise its important role in the determination of plasma triglyceride levels. Structure Gene The APOA5 gene resides on chromosome 11 at the band 11q23 and contains 4 exons and 3 introns. This gene uses alternate polyadenylation sites and is located proximal to the apolipoprotein gene cluster on chromosome 11q23. Protein This protein belongs to the apolipoprotein A1/A4/E family and contains 2 coiled coil domains. Overall, APOA5 is predicted to have approximately 60% a-helical content. The mature APOA5 protein spans a length of 366 amino acid residues, of which 23 amino acids code for the signal peptide. The molecular mass of the precursor was calculated to be 41 kDa, while the mature APOA5 protein was calculated to be 39 kDa. Tissue distribution In humans, APOA5 is expressed almost exclusively in the liver tissue; some minor expressions have also been detected in the small intestine. Nothing is known about the existence of the potential alternative splicing variants of this gene. In comparison with other apolipoproteins, plasma concentration of APOA5 is very low (less than 1 μg/mL). This suggests that it has more catalytic