α₂-apolipoprotein E in patients with acute hepatitis

Abstract

Apolipoprotein E (apo E) in high-density lipoprotein with apo E (HDL-with apo E) which migrated in near the α₂-globulin region behind α lipoprotein by the quantitative immunofixation electrophoresis had been named "α₂-apo E". In order to charactefize the distribution of apo E in acute hepatitis, α₂-apo E in 6 patients with acute hepatitis were determined in the courses. Low levels of apo A-I and cholesterol in HDL, (HDL-C), high levels of apo E and apo C-II and C-II/C-III ratio, and low activities of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) were seen at the admission, and were restored to near the normal ranges after therapies. And at admission, the greater part (77.0±7.2%) of apo E was distributed in HDL-with apo E, so the concentration of α₂-apo E was abnormally high level of 5.1±0.8 mg/dl. After 3 months in hospitalizations, the fraction and the concentration of α₂-apo E decreased to 42.2±8.1% and 1.7±0.6mg/dl. So, inverse correlation between LCAT activity and ratio of C-II/C-III was recognized. And α₂-apo E significantly correlated with levels of serum apo E (r=0.899, p<0.01) and C-II/C-III (r=0.853, p<0.01) and apo C-II (r=0.703, p<0.01), and inversely correlated with levels of LCAT activity(r=-0.844, p<0.01) and apo A-I (r=-0.612, p<0.01) and HDL-C (r=-0.703, p<0.01) in the courses. In conclusion, it was speculated that abnormal increase of α₂-apo E in acute hepatitis would be mainly due to the decrease of LCAT activity and would become the sourse of hyper-E apolipoproteinemia in hepatitis.