APOC3 and metabolic syndrome: Conversely, increased concentrations of apo C-III were observed to be a common feature of the MetS-phenotype from a study of 563 Italian subjects, despite no association at the genetic level, questioning the mechanistic role of the APOC3 -455T>C genotype and suggesting another underlying mechanism, such as reduced protein catabolic rate for apo C-III, independent of increased apo C-III expression at the level of transcription [23].