Genes that increase risk of diseases may increase fertility

What is it about?

It is well established that carries of ApoE4 allele have increased risk of cardiovascular and Alzheimer diseases. This is not surprising because gene ApoE encodes apolipoprotein E that is involved in cholesterol metabolism and people with ApoE4 allele have higher cholesterol levels. However, cholesterol is also a substrate for production of sex steroid hormones. We show that women who are ApoE4 carriers have significantly higher levels of progesterone, which implies higher potential fertility.

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Why is it important?

The fact that women with "bad" for health apolipoprotein allele have higher potential fertility helps us to understand why genes that increase risk of diseases persist in human populations.