Familial defective apo B-100 (FDB) is an autosomal dominant condition resulting in hypercholesterolemia. It is generally observed in 1-6% of hypercholesterolemic subjects in Caucasian populations studied. There are, thus far, no reports characterizing the frequency and phenotype of FDB in a Chinese population. We report on the frequency of the FDB (Arg(3500)--> Gln) mutation and the associated haplotype among 160 hypercholesterolemic (TC > or = 6.2 mmol/l) Chinese Canadians including 36 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Screening for the FDB mutation was done using a mutagenic polymerase chain reaction and haplotype analysis was undertaken using eight diallelic markers and the 3'HVR marker. One Chinese Canadian clinical FH heterozygote was positive for the FDB Arg(3500)--> Gln mutation while none of the remaining non-FH hypercholesterolemic subjects (n = 124) were carriers of this mutation. Haplotype analysis in the patient positive for this mutation revealed a unique haplotype which differed from both the common haplotype of this mutation observed in Caucasians and from the only other haplotype reported in a Chinese individual. The associated haplotype included a 9-base pair deletion in the signal peptide region and the presence of three restriction sites absent in previously reported haplotypes. These data suggest that the apo B-100 Arg(3500)--> Gln mutation does not appear to be a significant factor contributing to moderate hypercholesterolemia in a Chinese population residing in Canada. However, this mutation was rarely observed among Chinese individuals with a clinical diagnosis of FH. The presence among Chinese individuals of two different haplotypes associated with this mutation, which are different from what has been described among Caucasians is compatible with multiple recurrent origins for this mutation in the Chinese population.