ApoVLDL of the Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic rabbit and the cholesterol-fed rabbit

The Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic rabbit (WHHL rabbit) and the cholesterol-fed rabbit have been reported to show elevations of very low density (VLDL), intermediate density (IDL), and low density lipoproteins (LDL), and a broad-beta band on agarose-gel electrophoresis. We have studied the lipid and lipoprotein composition of WHHL rabbits and cholesterol-fed rabbits using ultracentrifugal analysis and isoelectric focusing. The total cholesterol (TC)/triglyceride (TG) ratios of VLDL, IDL, and LDL in WHHL rabbits were slightly elevated, but almost normal compared with those of cholesterol-fed rabbits, whose TC/TG ratios were markedly elevated compared with normolipidemic rabbits. ApoVLDL of WHHL rabbits showed no compositional changes in apoE and apoC isoforms, and no marked changes in the apoE/apoC ratios. But apoVLDL of cholesterol-fed rabbits showed a significant decrease of apoC-III, a significant increase of apoC-V, and marked elevation of the apoE/apoC ratio. We conclude that serum lipoprotein compositions in the WHHL rabbit were normal, while the lipoprotein lipid and apolipoprotein composition in the WHHL rabbit are different from those in cholesterol-fed rabbits.