Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026
High-Density Lipoprotein-Specific Phospholipid Efflux Assay
Published on: September 30, 2025
Fatty acid composition of HDL phospholipids and coronary artery disease
Mohammad Noori1, Masoud Darabi, Ali Rahimipour
1Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Avenue, Tabriz.
Insights
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) polyunsaturated fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are linked to coronary artery disease (CAD). Lower levels of these fatty acids in HDL are associated with the presence and severity of CAD.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Nutritional Biochemistry
Background:
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) phospholipid fatty acid profiles reflect dietary intake.
- HDL fatty acids may serve as risk markers for coronary heart disease (CAD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if HDL phospholipid fatty acid composition correlates with angiographically documented CAD.
- To assess the association between specific fatty acids and CAD presence and severity.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed HDL phospholipid fatty acid composition in 212 patients using gas liquid chromatography.
- Classified patients based on coronary artery stenosis severity (significantly diseased arteries vs. minimally diseased arteries).
- Employed multivariate analyses to evaluate independent associations between HDL fatty acids and CAD outcomes.
Main Results:
- Patients with significantly diseased arteries had lower levels of linoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compared to those with minimally diseased arteries.
- Linoleic acid, EPA, and DHA in HDL phospholipids were independently associated with the presence of CAD.
- EPA and DHA content were inversely associated with the severity of CAD.
Conclusions:
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA within HDL particles, demonstrate an independent association with the presence and severity of angiographically confirmed CAD.
- HDL fatty acid composition may serve as a biomarker for cardiovascular risk stratification.
Background:
The phospholipid fatty acid content of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) partially reflects that of the diet and has been reported to be associated with several important biological functions that might serve as risk markers for coronary heart disease.
Objective:
To investigate whether fatty acid composition of HDL phospholipids correlates with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD).
Methods:
The population included 212 patients who underwent clinically indicated coronary angiography. The patients were classified with significantly diseased arteries (SDA) if one or more coronary arteries had a stenosis >50% and with minimally diseased arteries (MDA) if there was no significant stenosis (<40%) in any artery. The severity of CAD was expressed by the number of affected vessels. The fatty acid composition of HDL phospholipids was determined by gas liquid chromatography. Multivariate analyses were used to test the independence of associations between the presence and severity of CAD as outcome variables and fatty acid composition of HDL phospholipids.
Results:
Patients with SDA showed significantly lower levels of linoleic acid (P = .041), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (P = .027), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (P = .026) than patients with MDA in univariate analyses. The association of linoleic acid (odds ratio [OR] .90, P < .05), EPA (OR, 0.41, P < .02), and DHA (OR, 0.48, P < .02) remained statistically significant in the multivariate analyses. The content of EPA (β = -0.23, P < .01) and DHA (β = -0.17, P < .05) remained inversely significantly associated with the severity of CAD.
Conclusions:
This study shows that polyunsaturated fatty acids, including EPA and DHA content of HDL particles, are independently associated with the presence and severity of angiographically documented CAD.
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