Multiple changes in apoprotein B containing lipoproteins after ethanol withdrawal in alcoholic men

The plasma concentrations and chemical compositions of the apolipoprotein B containing lipoproteins (VLDL, IDL and LDL) were studied in 29 male alcoholic subjects at the end of a drinking period and in 17 healthy controls. No difference was found in the concentrations of plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride between the alcoholics and the controls, whereas plasma HDL cholesterol and VLDL triglycerides were 90% and 73%, respectively, higher in the alcoholics. The VLDL cholesterol:triglyceride ratio was reduced by 32%, whereas VLDL protein:cholesterol and phospholipid:cholesterol ratios were increased by 36% and 46%, respectively. IDL mass and protein concentrations, and particularly the fractional cholesteryl ester content of IDL tended to be low in the alcoholics. The plasma concentrations of all the LDL components except triglycerides were reduced in the alcoholics, resulting in a lower LDL cholesterol:triglyceride ratio. During the four day abstinence, when the lipoprotein values were followed in 15 alcoholic subjects, the abnormalities in VLDL composition and LDL plasma concentrations changed towards the values of the controls. In six alcoholic subjects who volunteered for LDL kinetic studies the fractional catabolic rate for LDL particles isolated immediately after the drinking period and seven days later were the same. These studies suggest that the alterations in all the apoB containing lipoproteins may contribute to the delayed progression of atherosclerosis observed in alcohol users.