This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tato, F. Articles by Grundy, S. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tato, F. Articles by Grundy, S. M.

(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 1995;15:446-451.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Bimodal Distribution of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Activities in Normotriglyceridemic Men With Low HDL Cholesterol Concentrations

Federico Tato; Gloria Lena Vega; Scott M. Grundy

From the Center for Human Nutrition (F.T., G.L.V., S.M.G.) and the Departments of Clinical Nutrition (G.L.V., S.M.G.), Internal Medicine (S.M.G.), and Biochemistry (S.M.G.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

Correspondence to Gloria Lena Vega, PhD, Center for Human Nutrition (Y3.206), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75235-9052.

Abstract Increased plasma activities of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) theoretically could lower HDL cholesterol levels due to enhanced transfer of cholesteryl esters from HDL to apo B–containing lipoproteins. To determine whether high CETP activities are associated with isolated hypoalphalipoproteinemia, CETP activities were measured in 109 adult men with HDL cholesterol <35 mg/dL, plasma triglycerides <200 mg/dL, and LDL cholesterol <160 mg/dL; the results were compared with those of 50 normolipidemic (HDL cholesterol >40 mg/dL) male subjects. CETP activities were assayed in vitro and expressed as the percent of [³H]cholesteryl ester transferred from HDL₃ to LDL during a 16-hour incubation. In addition, postheparin plasma activities of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL) were determined in 71 patients with a low HDL cholesterol level. Distributions of CETP activities were unimodal in control subjects (mean±SD, 23.1±5.0%), but they were bimodal in the low-HDL patients. Among the latter, 27 patients had elevated CETP activities (40.8±4.6%), whereas 82 patients had CETP activities that overlapped the normal range (26.14±7.6%). Low-HDL patients with normal CETP activities had 20% lower LPL activities (P=.01), 25% higher HTGL activities (P=.03), and 63% lower LPL/HTGL ratios (P<.001) than those of low-HDL patients with increased CETP activity. Furthermore, mean LPL and HTGL activities in the low-HDL patients with elevated CETP activities were in the normal range. Another important distinction between the two subgroups with low HDL was that the subgroup with high CETP activity had only a 30% prevalence of coronary heart disease compared with a 70% prevalence in the subgroup with normal CETP activity (P<.01). These findings suggest that elevated CETP activity may be a significant factor in causing low HDL cholesterol levels in a distinct subgroup of normolipidemic patients with low HDL cholesterol levels.

Key Words: cholesteryl ester transfer protein • HDL • normotriglyceridemia • postheparin plasma lipase activities

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Kontush and M. J. Chapman Functionally Defective High-Density Lipoprotein: A New Therapeutic Target at the Crossroads of Dyslipidemia, Inflammation, and Atherosclerosis Pharmacol. Rev., September 1, 2006; 58(3): 342 - 374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				References Circulation, December 17, 2002; 106(25): 3373 - 3421. [Full Text]

				K. K. Berneis and R. M. Krauss Metabolic origins and clinical significance of LDL heterogeneity J. Lipid Res., September 1, 2002; 43(9): 1363 - 1379. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Asztalos, M. Lefevre, L. Wong, T. A. Foster, R. Tulley, M. Windhauser, W. Zhang, and P. S. Roheim Differential response to low-fat diet between low and normal HDL-cholesterol subjects J. Lipid Res., March 1, 2000; 41(3): 321 - 328. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				C. Dachet, O. Poirier, F. Cambien, J. Chapman, and M. Rouis New Functional Promoter Polymorphism, CETP/-629, in Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) Gene Related to CETP Mass and High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels : Role of Sp1/Sp3 in Transcriptional Regulation Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., February 1, 2000; 20(2): 507 - 515. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. J. Lewis-Barned, W. H. F. Sutherland, R. J. Walker, H. L. Walker, S. A. de Jong, E. A. Edwards, and V. H. Markham Plasma Cholesterol Esterification And Transfer, the Menopause, And Hormone Replacement Therapy in Women J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., October 1, 1999; 84(10): 3534 - 3538. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. F. Asztalos, M. Lefevre, T. A. Foster, R. Tulley, M. Windhauser, L. Wong, and P. S. Roheim Normolipidemic Subjects With Low HDL Cholesterol Levels Have Altered HDL Subpopulations Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., October 1, 1997; 17(10): 1885 - 1893. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				J. A. Kuivenhoven, P. de Knijff, J. M.A. Boer, H. A. Smalheer, G.-J. Botma, J. C. Seidell, J. J.P. Kastelein, and P. H. Pritchard Heterogeneity at the CETP Gene Locus : Influence on Plasma CETP Concentrations and HDL Cholesterol Levels Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., March 1, 1997; 17(3): 560 - 568. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				F. Tato, G. L. Vega, and S. M. Grundy Determinants of Plasma HDL-Cholesterol in Hypertriglyceridemic Patients: Role of Cholesterol-Ester Transfer Protein and Lecithin Cholesteryl Acyl Transferase Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., January 1, 1997; 17(1): 56 - 63. [Abstract] [Full Text]