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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Cholesterol Efflux Assay
Published on: March 6, 2012
Cholesterol bound to hemoglobin in normal human erythrocytes: a new form of cholesterol in circulation?
Milan Nikolić1, Dragana Stanić, Nadezda Antonijević
1Department of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, SCG, Yugoslavia.
Objective:
To study lipid fraction that is occasionally observed in red blood cell (RBC) hemolysate (supernatants from which membranes were separated).
Study Design:
Plasma lipid profiles, cholesterol (Ch) and phospholipids (PL) in intact RBCs, RBC membranes and hemolysates were examined in young healthy male population in winter and summer.
Results:
The RBC Ch and PL content was significantly higher than in membranes, both in winter and summer. The "excess" of cholesterol (associated with phospholipid) was bound to hemoglobin yielding Hb-lipid adduct (Hb-Ch), the pools in the RBC membrane remaining virtually unaltered. Levels of hemoglobin-lipid complex (Hb-Ch), which were significantly higher in winter than in summer (30% and 19% of the total Hb, respectively), positively correlated with plasma HDL cholesterol levels.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of cholesterol binding to Hb. The results suggest influence of plasma lipoprotein metabolism on the formation of Hb-Ch.
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