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A high density lipoprotein from Piaractus mesopotamicus, pacu, (Osteichthyes, Characidae), is associated with
E Folly1, V L Bastos, M V Alves
1Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Bauhinia, 400, bloco H, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP. 21940-590, Brazil.
Abstract:
We have characterized the serum lipoprotein profile and localized the serum paraoxonase activity of pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, a tropical fish species. The total lipoprotein profile of pacu serum obtained after KBr density ultracentrifugation shows the predominance of HDL (1.1267 g/mL). SDS-PAGE electrophoresis revealed a negligible amount of LDL. Pacu HDL was purified by gel filtration column on HPLC, and its molecular mass was estimated to be 246 kDa. Protein composition was 35%, and comprised four protein components with molecular masses of 45, 38, 25 and 12.5 kDa. Lipids represent 58% of total HDL, comprising 40% neutral lipids and 18% phospholipids by weight. The HDL contains 7% of carbohydrates, and mannose was the only sugar detected by paper chromatography in HDL hydrolysates. HDL-containing fractions showed the major paraoxonase activity. Purification of HDL resulted in a 23-fold enrichment of this activity. This is the first experimental evidence demonstrating the association of paraoxonase activity with a HDL in fish.