COMPOSITION OF VERY LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS AND INVITRO EFFECT OF LIPOPROTEIN-LIPASE

In order to clarify the relationship between composition and lipolytic responses to lipoprotein lipase (LPL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) from rats or humans were incubated with a commercially available LPL or with a partially purified LPL from postheparin human plasma and fatty acids released from VLDL were determined in vitro. VLDL from rats fed a diet containing 0.25% cholesterol for 6 months were rich in cholesterol and poor in triglycerides, and released less fatty acids from incubation with LPL than those from control rats. VLDL from normo- and hypertriglyceridemic human subjects were incubated with LPL. The fatty acid release poorly correlated with the apoprotein ratios of VLDL, apo C-III/C-II, B/E, and C/E with the exception of apo B/C, but it correlated well with the ratio of triglyceride/either one of the surface components including total apoproteins, free cholesterol and phospholipids in VLDL or the ratio of the triglyceride/total sum of the surface components. The correlation coefficients between fatty acid release and a ratio of triglyceride/total surface components were 0.774 (using the commercially available LPL) and 0.786 (using the partially purified human LPL). The fatty acid release increased after pretreatment of VLDL with phospholipase A2. The phospholipid content of VLDL was reduced without significant changes in other VLDL components. Thus, the responses of VLDL to LPL treatment may depend mainly upon the surface:core relationship of VLDL rather than its apoprotein composition except in rare clinical cases such as apo C-II deficiency.