An evaluation of serum high density lipoproteins-phospholipids

Phospholipids in high density lipoproteins (HDL) is being used as a negative risk indicator of atherosclerosis. Phospholipids in HDL may not demonstrate the actual level of HDL-phospholipids when determined by the precipitation or ultracentrifugal methods, because HDL fractions contain very high density lipoproteins (VHDL) and albumin. In the present study, the true level of phospholipids in HDL was estimated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and it was compared with the level of phospholipids in HDL determined by the precipitation method. Sera from 18 healthy subjects were used as materials. In the HPLC method, the HDL fraction was extracted making sure that it contained no free albumin, which is albumin not bound to phospholipids. The HDL fraction was separated into subfractions. It was found that phospholipids in the VHDL fraction make a 20.2 +/- 7.3% (mean +/- S.D.) part of the total HDL-phospholipids. A large part of the VHDL fraction was constituted of albumin-bound phospholipids. A significant correlation was observed between HDL-phospholipids determined by the precipitation method, which contain albumin, and the actual HDL fraction phospholipids determined by HPLC, which do not contain VHDL (r = 0.903, p less than 0.01). These results suggest that HDL-phospholipids values determined by the precipitation method give useful clinical data.