Abstract
Serum lipids, apolipoproteins and red cell lipids were investigated in the patients with spur cells or target cells in their peripheral blood. The patients were divided into 4 groups by the levels above and below 15 percent of the both deformed cells. However, the patients with cholestasis were separated into another group, because they had special characteristics in their serum lipids and apolipoprteins.
1.Mean serum total cholesterol concentrations were lower in both patients with spur cell and with target cells than those in normal control, of which degrees were markedly in the groups with higher percentages of abnormal cells. By contrast, cholestatic patients had higher cholesterol level than normal control. Serum phospholipids showed the same tende ncies, but triglyceride was not affected in these patients except high triglyceride level in cholestasis. The cholesterol ester ratio and HDL cholesterol were reduced in all groups, especially in both higher groups and cholestasis.
2. Serum apo A- I and A- II protein concentrations decreased in all suffered subjects. Although apo C-III showed the significant low levels in both higher groups, apo C-II: in cholestatic patients was almost the same level to control. Consequently, apo C-II/C-BI ratio was reversed in cholestasis as contrast to normal control and other groups. Apo B proteins in suffered groups were identical to control except high concentration in cholestasis. Further remarkable increase was observed in apo E protein of cholestatic patients, though other groups had the same mean levels to control.
3.Cholesterol in erythrocytes increased in every groups together with the increase of mean corpuscle volume. But the increases of phospholipids were more pronaunced in target cell groups than in the spur cells. Therefore phospholids/cholesterol ratio decreased in spur cells but not in target cells. The correlation coefficient between this ratio of erythro-cyte and serum phospholipids/free cholesterol ratio was 0.574 except cholestatic group and that between the former and phospholipids/free cholesterol ratio in HDL was 0.734.
4.Increase of the percent phosphatidyl choline and decrease of sphyngomyeline were proven in all groups with abnormal cells. These tendencies were clearly in the higher groups, especially in cholestatic group.
5. The masses of sphyngomyeline in erythrocytes were little affected in the suffered groups but these of phosphatidyl choline increased markedly. The increases were more remarkable in the higher group of target cells and cholestatics than in other groups.
6.Choline esterase activities were shown to decrease in all suffered groups. More abnormalities were found in GOT and GPT tests of target cell groups than in spur cells, but no intimate relationship was suggested between transaminase activities and appearance of the abnormal cells. Serum total bilirubin and bile acid acid concentrations were extremly elevated in both severe groups.
