Effect of Age on Lipoprotein Metabolism in Fisher-344 Rats

Abstract

Age-related changes in the lipid and lipoprotein metabolisms of Fisher-344 rats were investigated in three groups of rats at 6 (N=9), 12 (N=8) and 30 (N=8) months of age. Plasma triglycerides and cholesterols were determined using enzymatic methods. Serum lipoproteins were analyzed by the High Performance Liquid Chromatography by method of Hara et al.
Plasma triglyceride concentration increased significantly with age. Serum lipoproteins, however, did not increase significantly. Measurement of glycerol by High Performance Liquid Chromatography revealed that plasma glycerol concentration increased with age. Plasma cholesterol concentration increased significantly with age. HDL-cholesterol concentration increased significantly with age, while VLDL and LDL did not change. These results suggested that increased amount of plasma triglycerides results from false-positive increase of glycerol components and increased amount of cholesterol with age results from the increase of HDL-cholesterol.