# APOE

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/apoe/  
OnCo record `apoe` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

APOE (Apolipoprotein E) is a gene. In the public catalogues the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role.

## Summary

APOE is an apolipoprotein, a protein associating with lipid particles, that mainly functions in lipoprotein-mediated lipid transport between organs via the plasma and interstitial fluids. APOE is a core component of plasma lipoproteins and is involved in their production, conversion and clearance. Apolipoproteins are amphipathic molecules that interact both with lipids of the lipoprotein particle core and the aqueous environment of the plasma.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.55 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.99, animal model 0.50, genetic association 0.67).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: apolipoprotein E; Apolipoprotein E; AD2
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: APOE
- Class: other
- Biology: APOE is an apolipoprotein, a protein associating with lipid particles, that mainly functions in lipoprotein-mediated lipid transport between organs via the plasma and interstitial fluids. APOE is a core component of plasma lipoproteins and is involved in their production, conversion and clearance. Apolipoproteins are amphipathic molecules that interact both with lipids of the lipoprotein particle core and the aqueous environment of the plasma. As such, APOE associates with chylomicrons, chylomicron remnants, very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL) but shows a preferential binding to high-density lipoproteins (HDL). It also binds a wide range of cellular receptors including the LDL receptor/LDLR, the LDL receptor-related proteins LRP1, LRP2 and LRP8 and the very low-density lipoprotein receptor/VLDLR that mediate the cellular uptake of the APOE-containing lipoprotein particles. Finally, APOE also has a heparin-binding activity and binds heparan-sulfate proteoglycans on the surface of cells, a property that supports the capture and the receptor-mediated uptake of APOE-containing lipoproteins by cells. Location: Secreted; Secreted, extracellular space; Secreted, extracellular space, extracellular matrix; Extracellular vesicle (UniProt). Locus 19q13.32 (HGNC).

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: none stated by the sources. Evidence tier "association-only" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:613: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:613
- UniProt P02649: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P02649/entry
- NCBI Gene 348: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/348
- Ensembl ENSG00000130203: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000130203

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/apoe.json