Plasma lipids and acyltransferase activities in experimental nephrotic syndrome

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and lysolecithin acyltransferase (LAT) are two activities carried out by the same plasma enzyme, but require different apoprotein activators. The LCAT reaction takes place primarily on high density lipoproteins (HDL) and is activated by serum albumin, whereas LAT takes place on low density lipoproteins (LDL) and is inhibited by albumin. In nephrotic syndrome (NS), the levels of serum albumin are reduced, whereas the LDL levels are increased, and therefore, the ratio of LAT/LCAT activities should be increased. To test this hypothesis, we estimated the lipid levels and the two enzyme activities in experimental NS induced in rats by the injection of anti-Fx1A antibody (passive Heymann nephritis). As found in other nephrotic conditions, the plasma lipid levels rose progressively as the proteinuria increased and the serum albumin concentration declined. In addition, the ratio of LAT/LCAT activities increased by about fourfold after nine days of induction of nephritis. The LCAT activity correlated positively and the LAT activity negatively with serum albumin levels. The esterified cholesterol correlated positively with LCAT activity in normal rats but negatively in nephrotic animals, indicating that most of the cholesteryl esters in NS may be non-LCAT derived. The free cholesterol/lecithin ratio, a known risk factor for atherosclerosis, increased significantly in nephrotic rats. Furthermore, since the increase in the LAT activity produces more disaturated lecithins, another putative risk factor, the cumulative risk of coronary heart disease may be increased in long-term NS.