Cholesteryl ester transfer activity in plasma measured using solid phase bound high density lipoprotein

We determined cholesteryl ester transfer activity in whole plasma and in lipoprotein-depleted plasma of normolipidemic subjects and of patients with severe high-density lipoprotein (HDL) deficiency: Tangier disease, lecithin:cholesterol acyl-transferase (LCAT) deficiency, and “fish-eye ” disease. Transfer rates in plasma were positively correlated (r = 0.950) with rates measured in the absence of the endoge-nous lipoproteins. This suggests that lipoprotein composition and content may not affect total cholesteryl ester transfer activity in normolipidemic and the HDL-deficient subjects. Cholesteryl ester transfer from solid-phase-bound HDL to plasma lipoproteins was decreased by 39 % in fish-eye disease and 33 % in LCAT deficiency but increased by 57 % in Tangier disease, as compared with normal values. Changes were similar for lipoprotein-depleted plasma from the sam