Comparative acyl specificities for transfer and selective uptake of high density lipoprotein cholesteryl esters

This study compares the specificities of selective uptake and transfer mediated by plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) for various species of cholesteryl esters in high density lipoproteins (HDL). [3H]Cholesterol was esterified with a series of variable chain length saturated acids and a series of variably unsaturated 18-carbon acids. These were incorporated into synthetic HDL particles along with 125I-labeled apoA-I as a tracer of HDL particles and [14C]cholesteryl oleate as an internal standard for normalization between preparations. Selective uptake by Y1-BS1 mouse adrenal cortical tumor cells was most extensively studied, but uptake by human HepG2 hepatoma cells and fibroblasts of human, rat, and rabbit origin were also examined. Acyl chain specificities for selective uptake and for CETP-mediated transfer were conversely related; selective uptake by all cell types decreased with increasing acyl chain length and increased with the extent of unsaturation of C18 chains. In contrast, CETP-mediated transfer increased with acyl chain length, and decreased with unsaturation of C18 chains. The specificities of human and rabbit CETP were also compared, and were found to differ little. Associated experiments showed that HDL-associated triglycerides, traced by [3H]glyceryl trioleyl ether, were selectively taken up but at a lesser rate than cholesteryl esters. The mechanism of this uptake appears to be the same as for selective uptake of cholesteryl esters.