Postheparin lipolytic activity in acute and chronic renal failure

Lipid profile and postheparin lipolytic activity (PHLA) were investigated in 21 patients with acute renal failure (ARF), 24 with chronic renal failure (CRF), and 23 healthy volunteers. Plasma triglycerides were significantly elevated in ARF (155.19 +/- 72.39 mg/dL) as well as CRF (166.79 +/- 72.36 mg/dL), as compared to controls (89.91 +/- 23.41 mg/dL, p < .001). PHLA was determined at 5, 10, 30, and 60 min after intravenous heparin (100 U/kg) and was observed to be reduced in ARF (7.82 +/- 1.41 mumol FFA/mL/h) as well as CRF (8.44 +/- 1.68 mumol FFA/mL/h) at 10 min, as compared to the values in the control subjects (12.03 +/- 2.43 mumol FFA/mL/h, p < .01). No correlation was found between PHLA and plasma triglycerides in ARF or CRF. In 15 patients in each group, PHLA subfractions, hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were determined at similar time intervals after heparin. Both fractions were found to be reduced significantly (p < .01) in ARF as well as in CRF versus controls. These findings indicate that the lipid alterations in acute and chronic renal failure share common features including hypertriglyceridemia and reduced PHLA and its subfractions HTGL and LPL.