Increased postprandial lipemia in Apo A-IMilano carriers

Plasma lipid/lipoprotein changes were monitored after a fat load (65 g fat per square meter body surface area) in six carriers of the apolipoprotein A-IMilano (A-IM) variant and six age- and sex-matched control subjects. The magnitude of postprandial lipemia, calculated as the area under the curve (AUC) described by plasma triglyceride (TG) level versus time, was threefold higher in the A-IM carriers; however, after correction for the different baseline TG levels, it was similar to control subjects. Moreover, the magnitude of postprandial lipemia was positively correlated with baseline TG in both A-IM carriers (r = 0.77) and control subjects (r = 0.80), indicating that fasting TGs are a major determinant of postprandial response in all subjects. Postprandial lipemia was also inversely correlated with high density lipoprotein (HDL) and HDL2 cholesterol in both groups (A-IM, r = -0.81 and -0.79; control subjects, r = -0.87 and -0.94). Different from those in control subjects, the plasma apo A-I levels in the A-IM carriers decreased progressively while apo B increased up to 4 hours but decreased thereafter. Postprandial rises of low density lipoprotein TG but not of HDL-TG AUC were significantly higher in the A-IM carriers, even after normalization for the different fasting concentrations. These data show that the low plasma HDL levels of A-IM carriers, which are secondary to a primary structural alteration of the major HDL apolipoprotein, are associated with elevated fasting and postprandial TG levels and an anomalous postprandial redistribution of TG among lipoprotein classes.