Serum lipoprotein lipase in healthy subjects: effects of gender and age, and relationships to lipid parameters.

Abstract

Using serum samples obtained from normal individuals who had not received heparin injection, we investigated the relationship of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) to lipid and apolipoprotein concentrations in serum. For the measurement of LPL concentration, a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed, in which the lowest detection limit was 9 micrograms/L. The mean (SD) serum LPL concentration was 50.7 (14.9) micrograms/L (n = 240). It was lower in men [45.5 (14.0) micrograms/L in men and 56.0 (13.9) micrograms/L in women]. Serum LPL concentration correlated positively with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, r = 0.549) and apolipoprotein AI (apoAI, r = 0.487), and inversely with triglycerides (r = -0.423). Our results suggest that serum LPL may be a factor in the modulation of HDL-C and triglyceride concentrations in normal subjects.