Liver tissue lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity in patients with liver disease

Lecithin: Cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity was measured in serum and liver tissue from patients with parenchymal liver disease. Serum LCAT activity was within normal limits and it was probably related to the absence of clinical and laboratory evidence of a decompensated liver function. Liver tissue LCAT activity is about tenfold lower than that in serum. The relative proportion of cholesterol esters in liver tissue was much higher that could be expected according the low tissue LCAT activity. This findings suggest that LCAT is a "plasma specific" enzyme and that cholesterol esters in parenchyma may be considered as a storage form of cholesterol esterified in plasma pool.