Characterization of high density lipoprotein binding to human adipocyte plasma membranes

Freshly isolated human adipocytes showed specific uptake of 125I-labeled human high density lipoprotein (HDL2 and HDL3), a portion of which could be released by subsequent incubation with excess unlabeled ligand. To study the mechanism of HDL binding, sucrose gradient-purified adipocyte plasma membranes were incubated with radioiodinated lipoprotein particles under equilibrium conditions in the absence (total binding) or presence (nonspecific binding) of 100-fold excess unlabeled ligand. Specific binding of HDL2 and HDL3, calculated by subtracting nonspecific from total binding, was Ca++ independent, unaffected by EDTA, and not abolished by pronase treatment of the membranes. Modification of HDL3 by reductive methylation or cyclohexanedione treatment also failed to affect its binding to adipocyte plasma membranes. High salt concentration (200 mM NaCl) inhibited specific binding of HDL2 and HDL3 but had no effect on LDL binding. A significant portion of 125I-HDL2 or 125I-HDL3 binding was consistently inhibited by adding excess unlabeled LDL, but this inhibition was incomplete as compared with a similar molar excess of unlabeled HDL2 or HDL3. The role of apoproteins (apo) in HDL binding to adipocyte membranes was examined by comparing binding of HDL2 and HDL3 isolated from normal, abetalipoproteinemic (abeta) and apo E-deficient (apo E0) plasma. Specific binding was observed with all normal and mutant HDL particles. Furthermore, a significant portion (61-78%) of abeta-HDL2, apo E0-HDL2, and apo E0-HDL3 binding was inhibited by adding 100-fold excess of unlabeled low density lipoproteins (LDL). The cross-competition of LDL and HDL binding was confirmed by the ability of normal, abeta, and apo E0-HDL2 to completely inhibit 125I-LDL binding. These data suggest that HDL binding is independent of apo E and that the responsible apoprotein(s) of HDL complete with LDL-apo B for binding to the same or closely related site in the adipocyte plasma membrane. Normal and apo E0-HDL3 binding was also completely inhibited by normal HDL2, which suggested that HDL2 and HDL3 probably bind to the same site. Scatchard analysis of normal HDL2, normal HDL3, and apo E0-HDL3 binding data best fitted a one-component binding profile with similar equilibrium dissociation constants (40-96 nM). HDL3 binding was found to be effectively inhibited by anti-human apo AI or anti-human apo AII, but not by anti-human apo B antisera. This binding was also unaffected by monoclonal anti-human apo B or E antibodies known to inhibit binding of apo B or apo E containing lipoprotein to the LDL receptor of cultured fibroblasts. These findings, taken together, suggest that human fat cells possess HDL binding sites with apo AI and /or apo AII specificity. The significant but partial inhibition of HDL2 and HDL3 binding by LDL along with the complete inhibition of LDL binding by HDL2 and HDL3 tends to exclude a single binding site that interacts both lipoproteins and favors the interpretation that LDL and HDL particles bind to multiple recognition sites or to different conformation of the same lipoprotein binding domain on the human fat cell.