Aim: To demonstrate the interrelationship between plasma apolipoprotein(apo)CII concentrations and the pattern of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclass distribution.
Methods: ApolipoproteinA-I contents of plasma HDL subclasses were quantified by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis associated with immunodetection in 504 Chinese subjects.
Results: Compared with subjects in the lowest tertile of the apoCII group, the contents of preβ₁- HDL, HDL_3b, and HDL_3a were significantly higher than HDL_2a and HDL_2b in subjects in the middle and highest tertiles of the apoCII group. Moreover, regardless of whether apoB100 increased, preβ₁-HDL contents increased, but HDL_2b fell when apoCII rose while, at any apoCII levels, HDL_2b rose with the elevation of apoA-I. Additionally, a reduction in preβ₁-HDL (from 131.9 to 90.6 mg/L) but an increase in HDL_2b (from 269.1 to 382.7 mg/L) with a rise in the apoCIII/CIi value (between 0.8 and 5.6) were also observed.
Conclusion: The particle size of HDL become smaller with the increase of apoCII levels, implying that the efficiency of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) was impaired and blocked the maturation of HDL. ApoCII might be an independent factor affecting the distribution of HDL subclasses. Further, the apoCIII/CII ratio correlated with the size of HDL particles.