Selectivity and contribution of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase to plasma cholesterol ester formation

Selectivity factors (Vm/Km) for human and rat lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferases (LCAT) for the transfer of various acyl groups from the 2-position of phosphatidylcholine were determined. By multiplying these values by the proportions of acyl groups at the 2-position of phosphatidylcholine, one can predict the proportions of molecular species of cholesterol ester which will be synthesized by LCAT. In human subjects fasted overnight, the molecular composition of plasma cholesterol ester was found to reflect the LCAT selectivity relatively accurately. This result supports the concepts that hepatic acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) does not contribute significantly to the synthesis of plasma cholesterol ester and that removal of cholesterol ester from plasma is not selective with respect to molecular species under these conditions. In contrast to the results with humans, the molecular composition of plasma cholesterol ester formed in spontaneously hypertensive rats fed a high-cholesterol diet and then fasted overnight differs from that which is predicted from LCAT selectivity and the proportion of various fatty acids at the 2-position of phosphatidylcholine: these results suggest that cholesterol ester is formed mainly via the ACAT reaction.