Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue and in postheparin plasma in human obesity

Exercise with weight loss improves adipose tissue and skeletal muscle markers of fatty acid metabolism in postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE

The effects of 6-month weight loss (WL) versus aerobic exercise training (AEX)+WL on fat and skeletal muscle markers of fatty acid metabolism were determined in normal (NGT) and impaired (IGT) glucose tolerant African-American and Caucasian postmenopausal women with overweight/obesity.

METHODS

Fat (gluteal and abdominal) lipoprotein lipase (LPL), skeletal muscle LPL, acyl-CoA synthase (ACS), ß-hydroxacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT-1), and citrate synthase (CS) activities were measured at baseline (n = 104) and before and after WL (n = 34) and AEX+WL (n = 37).

RESULTS

After controlling for age and race, muscle LPL and CPT-1 were lower in IGT, and the ratios of fat/muscle LPL activity were higher in IGT compared to NGT. Muscle LPL was related to insulin sensitivity (M value) and inversely related to G₁₂₀ , fasting insulin, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. AEX+WL decreased abdominal fat LPL and increased muscle LPL, ACS, and CS. The ratios of fat/muscle LPL decreased after AEX+WL. The change in VO₂ max was related to the changes in LPL, ACS, and CS and inversely related to the changes in fat/muscle LPL activity ratios.

CONCLUSIONS

Six-month AEX+WL, and not WL alone, is capable of enhancing skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism in postmenopausal African-American and Caucasian women with NGT, IGT, and overweight/obesity.

Microarray analysis of adipose tissue gene expression profiles between two chicken breeds

The chicken is an important model organism that bridges the evolutionary gap between mammals and other vertebrates and provides a major protein source from meat and eggs throughout the world. Excessive accumulation of lipids in the adipose tissue is one of the main problems faced by the broiler industry nowadays. In order to visualize the mechanisms involved in the gene expression and regulation of lipid metabolism in adipose tissue, cDNA microarray containing 9024 cDNA was used to construct gene expression profile and screen differentially expressed genes in adipose tissue between broilers and layers of 10 wk of age. Sixty-seven differentially expressed sequences were screened out, and 42 genes were found when blasted with the GenBank database. These genes are mainly related to lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, transcription and splicing factor, protein synthesis and degradation. The remained 25 sequences had no annotation available in the GenBank database. Furthermore, Northern blot and semi-quantitative RT-PCR were developed to confirm 4 differentially expressed genes screened by cDNA microarray, and it showed great consistency between the microarray data and Northern blot results or semi-quantitative RT-PCR results. The present study will be helpful for clarifying the molecular mechanism of obesity in chickens.

Responses of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase to weight loss affect lipid levels and weight regain in women

This study determines whether changes in abdominal (ABD) and gluteal (GLT) adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in response to a 6-mo weight loss intervention, comprised of a hypocaloric diet and low-intensity walking, affect changes in body composition, fat distribution, lipid metabolism, and the magnitude of weight regain in 36 obese postmenopausal women. Average adipose tissue LPL activity did not change with an average 5.6-kg weight loss, but changes in LPL activity were inversely related to baseline LPL activity (ABD: r = -0.60, GLT: r = -0.48; P < 0.01). The loss of abdominal body fat and decreases in total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were greater in women whose adipose tissue LPL activity decreased with weight loss despite a similar loss of total body weight and fat mass. Moreover, weight regain after a 6-mo follow-up was less in women whose adipose tissue LPL activity decreased than in women whose LPL increased (ABD: 0.9 +/- 0.5 vs. 2.8 +/- 0.6 kg, P < 0.05; GLT: 0.2 +/- 0.5 vs. 2.8 +/- 0.5 kg, P < 0.01). These results suggest that a reduction in adipose tissue LPL activity with weight loss is associated with improvements in lipid metabolic risk factors with weight loss and with diminished weight regain in postmenopausal women.

Glycohemoglobin levels relate to the response of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase to insulin/glucose in obese non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (ATLPL) is responsible for the provision of lipoprotein-derived fatty acids to adipocytes for storage as triglycerides. Fasting ATLPL has been shown to be decreased in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), an insulin-resistant state. Medically uncomplicated obesity, another state of relative insulin resistance, is associated with decreased stimulation of the enzyme in response to metabolic stimuli. It was therefore hypothesized that the increased insulin resistance of NIDDM would result in an even greater defect in the response of ATLPL to insulin/glucose. Gluteal adipose tissue biopsies were performed in 13 premenopausal obese women with NIDDM, before and after 6 hours of intravenous insulin and glucose. Metabolic data from these studies were then compared with those obtained from 26 nondiabetic obese women of similar age, weight, and fasting insulin concentration (obese controls [OBC]). As expected, fasting gluteal ATLPL activity was lower in the NIDDM group than in OBC (3.7 +/- 0.9 v 11.1 +/- 1.6 nmol free fatty acids [FFA]/min/10(6) cells, P = .0003). The change in ATLPL activity (delta ATLPL) in response to a 6-hour insulin/glucose infusion was not statistically different between the two groups (2.2 +/- 1.1 v 4.7 +/- 1.2, P = .114). However, in NIDDM subjects there was a strong positive relationship between delta ATLPL and glycohemoglobin (GHb) level (r = .883, P = .0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ApoA-IHelsinki (Lys107-->0) associated with reduced HDL cholesterol and LpA-I:A-II deficiency

A Finnish kindred with premature coronary heart disease and decreased HDL cholesterol levels was identified as having an apoA-I variant, apoA-I (Lys107-->0), caused by a 3-bp deletion of nucleotides 1396 through 1398 in exon 4 of the apoA-I gene. These subjects (n = 10) were heterozygous for this mutation. The mean serum HDL cholesterol concentration (26.7 +/- 9.7 mg/dL) of affected family members was 36%, lower than that of unaffected family members (P < .05). Mean serum apoA-I and apoA-II concentrations in heterozygotes were reduced by 18% and 22%, respectively, compared with normal family members (P < .05). In heterozygotes the mean concentration of lipoprotein containing both apoA-I and apoA-II (LpA-I:A-II) was 31% lower than in those with normal apoA-I (P < .001), while the mean level of lipoproteins containing apoA-I without apoA-II was similar in the two groups. HDL density-gradient ultracentrifugation showed a lack of HDL2 and small dense HDL3 in heterozygotes compared with unaffected family members. The HDL particle size distribution, as analyzed by nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of heterozygotes, revealed one major peak at 8.0 to 9.7 nm, a minor peak at 7.8 to 8.5 nm, and an absence of HDL2b and HDL2a peaks. These latter peaks were observed in unaffected family members. Serum levels of LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, IDL, and LDL subclasses were similar in the two groups. However, in heterozygotes the cholesterol-to-triglyceride ratios in VLDL2, LDL1, LDL3, HDL2b, HDL2a, and HDL3a were 8% to 54% lower than in unaffected family members (P < .05). Cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in heterozygotes was reduced by 25% compared with unaffected family members (P < .05), while the plasma lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity did not differ between heterozygotes and unaffected family members. The ability of isolated variant apoA-I to serve as a cofactor for LCAT in vitro did not differ from that of normal apoA-I. Our data are consistent with the concept that a low HDL cholesterol level in subjects heterozygous for the apoA-IHelsinki mutation (Lys107-->0) having normal LCAT activity is a consequence of decreased concentration of LpA-I:A-II particles and of a smaller size and reduced cholesterol content of HDL particles.

Dietary fat is shunted away from oxidation, toward storage in obese Zucker rats

Previous measurements of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in adipose tissue (ATLPL) of lean and obese Zucker rats have consistently documented increased activity in obese rats relative to lean. Since LPL is considered to be rate limiting for the delivery of triglyceride fatty acids (TGFA) to muscle and adipose tissue, these data have been used to suggest that the metabolic partitioning of TGFA favors storage over oxidation in obese rats. To document the partitioning of TGFA directly, the fate of 14C labeled oleic acid (42nmols) was fed to lean, obese, and obese Zucker rats fed a hypocaloric diet designed to chronically reduce weight 25% below that of obese controls (reduced-obese). The amount of 14C recovered in CO2 over 6 hours following ingestion was significantly less in obese rats compared to lean (0.45 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.88 +/- 0.09nmols, p = .0004) and less still in the reduced obese group (0.34 +/- 0.06nmols p = .00003). Six hours after ingestion, the quantity of label found in adipose tissue was significantly greater in the obese rats compared to lean (14.51 +/- 1.92 vs. 1.38 +/- 0.29nmols p < .00001), but was intermediate in the reduced-obese group (9.23 +/- 0.98nmols p = .0003). At 2.2 hours there was significantly more label in skeletal muscle of lean rats compared to either obese or reduced-obese (2.33 +/- 0.24; 1.35 +/- 0.04nmols p = .01; 1.41 +/- 0.27nm p = .02). However, at 6 hours these differences between groups were no longer present. These finding Indicate that dietary fat is shunted away from oxidation toward storage in obese Zucker rats. Additionally it appears that there may be a relative block in the oxidation of TGFA that is taken up by skeletal muscle in obese rats. Finally the relative normalization of this partitioning defect in reduced-obese rats is at variance with what was suggested by previous measurements of tissue specific levels of LPL, and suggests an enhanced recirculation of fatty acids from adipose tissue to muscle in reduced-obese rats. This could occur through increased delivery of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) to muscle as a result of an increase in net lipolysis.

Regional variation in adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity: association with plasma high density lipoprotein levels

The associations of adipose tissue lipoprotien lipase (AT-LPL) activity with body fatness and plasma lipoprotein levels were studied in the light of the recently described regional differences in AT-LPL activity. In this regard, heparin-releasable LPL activity was measured in abdominal and femoral adipose tissues of 29 pre-menopausal women. Body fatness variables were all positively correlated with abdominal and femoral AT-LPL activities expressed per 10(6) cells. However, abdominal and femoral AT-LPL activities expressed per unit of cell surface displayed divergent association patterns with body fatness and plasma lipoprotein levels. Indeed, only abdominal AT-LPL activity remained significantly correlated with body fatness variables after adjustment for fat cell surface. Furthermore, whereas abdominal AT-LPL activity tended to be negatively correlated with plasma HDL-cholesterol levels, femoral AT-LPL activity was positively correlated with plasma HDL2-cholesterol (r = 0.40, P less than 0.05) concentration and with the HDL2-cholesterol/HDL3-cholesterol ratio (r = 0.49, P less than 0.01). These results demonstrate the importance of taking into account the regional variation in metabolic activity of adipose tissue when studying its associations with body fatness, and with plasma lipoprotein levels. The lack of association between abdominal AT-LPL activity and plasma HDL2-cholesterol levels lead us to suggest that AT-LPL activity may not be causally related with plasma HDL levels.

The effects of weight loss on the activity and expression of adipose-tissue lipoprotein lipase in very obese humans

Lipoprotein lipase is an enzyme in adipose tissue that hydrolyzes circulating triglycerides and thereby generates the fatty acids used in the synthesis of triglyceride in fat cells. To determine whether the activity and expression of lipoprotein lipase are affected by weight loss, we studied lipoprotein lipase in the adipose tissue of nine very obese subjects before and after a program of weight reduction. The subjects' mean (+/- SEM) initial weight was 136 +/- 7.3 kg, and the body-mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) ranged from 33.3 to 52.8 (mean, 43.0 +/- 2.5). Biopsies of adipose tissue were performed before weight loss and after it, when weight had been stable for three months. The weight reduction was achieved by a very-low-calorie diet (mean weight loss, 42.5 +/- 6.8 kg). After weight loss, the level of heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity increased in all patients, from 3.8 +/- 1.1 to 7.1 +/- 1.6 neq of free fatty acid released per minute per 10(6) cells (P less than 0.05). In addition, the amount of lipoprotein lipase immunoreactive protein increased from 6.3 +/- 1.7 to 24.4 +/- 6.9 ng per 10(6) cells (P less than 0.05), and there was also an increase in the level of lipoprotein lipase messenger RNA as measured by Northern blotting. There was a strongly positive correlation between the initial body-mass index and the magnitude of the increase in lipoprotein lipase activity (r = 0.80, P less than 0.01) and immunoreactive protein (r = 0.92, P less than 0.01). We conclude that weight loss in very obese subjects leads to the increased activity and expression of lipoprotein lipase, thereby potentially enhancing lipid storage and making further weight loss more difficult.

Familial lipoprotein lipase-activity deficiency: study of total body fatness and subcutaneous fat tissue distribution

Total body fatness and subcutaneous fat tissue distribution were evaluated in 19 hyperchylomicronemic patients. Eleven were males, aged 10 to 57 years, and eight were females, aged 13 to 46 years. Familial lipoprotein-lipase-activity deficiency was diagnosed by the absence of lipoprotein-lipase activity in the plasma withdrawn ten and 20 minutes after intravenous injection of ten units of heparin per kilogram of body weight. The 19 patients had skin-fold measurements for evaluation of subcutaneous fat distribution. Fifteen also underwent body density measurements by underwater weighing. Percent body fat was calculated from body density. These anthropometric data were plotted against the regression curves of 1638 normal controls of both sexes (aged 10 to 54 years) for fat tissue weight, percent body fat, subcutaneous fat/total fat mass ratio and trunk/extremity skin-fold ratio. Impairments in the process of building fat tissue reserves could not be shown in the 19 hyperchylomicronemic patients, in spite of the absence of lipoprotein-lipase activity in their postheparin plasma. It is hypothesized that normal fat tissue mass in these patients could be due partly to de novo synthesis of fatty acids by adipocytes, hydrolysis of plasma triglycerides by hepatic lipase, and/or contribution of a specific fat-tissue lipase to the catabolism of plasma triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.

Elevated adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in craniopharyngioma patients

The activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was measured in adipose tissue (AT-LPL) and postheparin plasma (PH-LPL) of 13 obese patients (aged 11 to 31 years) who had surgery for craniopharyngioma 1 to 13 years earlier. AT-LPL activity (mean +/- SEM) was higher in them than in subjects matched with respect to age, sex, and relative body weight (4.6 +/- 1.1 v 2.1 +/- 0.4 mumol free fatty acids (FFA).h-1.g-1, P less than .05). The activity was also higher when expressed per fat cell.

Weight reduction increases adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase responsiveness in obese women

Lipoprotein lipase was measured in gluteal adipose tissue from nine obese (90.6 +/- 2.7 kg) women fasting and after the intravenous infusion of insulin and glucose before, immediately after, and 3 mo subsequent to a 14.0 +/- 1.8% (mean +/- SEM) weight reduction. Fasting adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity (ATLPL) decreased from 5.3 to 2.3 nEq FFA/10(6) cells per min (P less than 0.02) immediately after weight reduction, yet after weight maintenance, higher levels were again found (6.1 nEq FFA/10(6) cells per min). Although responsiveness of ATLPL to 40 mU/m2 per min of insulin infusion over 6 h was absent before weight loss, increases were seen immediately after weight loss (delta 0.8, P = 0.05) and more so (delta 7.7, P less than 0.01) after 3 mo. Moreover, whereas before weight loss the ATLPL response to ingested mixed meals (delta 0.9) was minimal, in the maintained reduced-obese state a marked increase was seen (delta 12.6, P = 0.02). Thus, because ATLPL is important to lipid filling in adipose tissue, the maintenance of high levels of fasting ATLPL and the increase in enzyme responsiveness in the reduced-obese state could play an important role in the resumption of the obese state, which so commonly follows weight reduction.

Diet composition and lipoprotein lipase (EC 3.1.1.34) activity in human obesity

1. Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (EC 3.1.1.34; AT-LPL), a rate-limiting enzyme in triglyceride storage in adipose tissue, is hormonally regulated and may be important in the maintenance of obesity. 2. In twelve obese women, AT-LPL activity was measured before weight loss, during weight loss and after 1 and 2 weeks of weight maintenance on either a high-carbohydrate or a high-protein diet. 3. When related to tissue weight, AT-LPL activity during the 2 weeks of weight maintenance was higher than the initial AT-LPL activity; there was no difference when activity was expressed per cell. 4. Changes in AT-LPL activity were not affected by diet composition. AT-LPL activity correlated with insulin levels and a change in insulin sensitivity of AT-LPL was observed after weight loss.

Basal and postprandial lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue during caloric restriction and refeeding

The effect of a ten-day caloric restriction period and of subsequent refeeding on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was studied in 14 moderately obese women. The enzyme assays were made from subcutaneous fat taken from three separate regions (gluteal, femoral, and abdominal) after overnight fasting and from one region also after a standard meal. There was a close correlation between the activities measured from the different subcutaneous sites. The caloric restriction was followed by a decrease of the basal LPL activity to one fifth of the value recorded during the isocaloric diet. However, the relative postprandial increase of LPL activity was greater during the low-calorie diet than during the isocaloric diet. During refeeding the basal LPL activity rose but remained at a lower level than before the caloric restriction. The postprandial LPL response was markedly exaggerated after ten days of refeeding (21% increase before dieting and 250% after refeeding). The changes of LPL during caloric restriction and subsequent refeeding were not correlated to plasma insulin levels. The mechanism of the exaggerated LPL response to meal during refeeding remains obscure.

Regional variation in HDL metabolism in human fat cells: effect of cell size

Abdominal obesity is related to reduced plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and both are associated with cardiovascular disease risk. We have observed that plasma membranes from abdominal subcutaneous adipocytes have a greater HDL binding capacity than omental fat cell plasma membranes. The present study examined whether these binding characteristics could be due to differences in fat cell size or cholesterol concentration between the two adipose depots. Abdominal subcutaneous and deep omental fat were obtained from massively obese patients at surgery. Subcutaneous abdominal fat cells were significantly larger and their cellular cholesterol content greater than omental adipocytes. The uptake of HDL by collagenase-isolated fat cells was studied by incubating the cells for 2 h at 37 degrees C with 10 micrograms/ml 125I-HDL2 or 125I-HDL3. In both depots, the cellular uptake of 125I-HDL2 and 125I-HDL3 was specifically inhibited by addition of 25-fold excess unlabeled HDL and a close correlation was observed between the cellular uptake of 125I-HDL2 and 125I-HDL3. In obese patients, the uptake of 125I-HDL was higher in subcutaneous cells than in omental cells [5.85 +/- 0.53 vs. 2.74 +/- 0.30 pmol X 2 h-1. (10(6) cells)-1]. The cellular 125I-HDL uptake was significantly correlated with adipocyte size and fat cell cholesterol content but not with adipocyte cholesterol concentration. These results suggest that the higher HDL uptake observed in subcutaneous cells compared with omental cells in obesity is the result of differences in adipocyte size rather than differences in the cholesterol concentration (cholesterol-to-triglyceride ratio).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lipoprotein lipase in diabetes

Lipoprotein lipase has a central role in the metabolism of both triglyceride-rich particles and high density lipoproteins, and it is one determinant of both serum triglyceride and HDL concentrations. In man the enzyme activity in both adipose tissue and skeletal muscle is insulin dependent, and therefore it varies in diabetes according to ambient insulin level and insulin sensitivity. In insulin deficiency (untreated Type 1 diabetes) the enzyme activity in both adipose tissue and muscle tissue is low but increases upon insulin therapy. In chronically insulin-treated patients with good control, the enzyme activity in postheparin plasma is increased. In untreated Type 2 diabetic patients, the average enzyme activity in adipose tissue and postheparin plasma is normal or subnormal. Therapy with oral agents or insulin, resulting in good glycemic control, is followed by an increase of LPL activity in both adipose tissue and postheparin plasma. In both Types 1 and 2 diabetes, changes of LPL activity are associated with relevant alterations in lipoprotein pattern. In insulin deficiency with low LPL, serum total and VLDL triglyceride levels are elevated, and HDL concentration is reduced. In chronically insulin-treated patients with high LPL activity, VLDL triglyceride concentrations are normal or subnormal, and HDL level is increased. In untreated Type 2 diabetic patients subnormal LPL activity may contribute to the elevation of serum triglycerides and to the reduction of HDL level.

Interrelationships between body mass and lipid and lipoprotein triglycerides and cholesterol in obese women

In 72 obese women body mass index positively correlated with age and both showed multiple correlations with serum lipids and lipoprotein lipids. After adjustment for age (partial correlation procedure), body mass index resulted to be positively correlated with serum triglycerides, VLDL lipids, HDL-triglycerides and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol. The decrease in HDL-cholesterol concentration along with the increase in body weight was due to the reduction of cholesterol in HDL2 subfraction, while HDL3-cholesterol did not show any significant correlation with body mass index. The negative correlation between HDL2-cholesterol and body mass index was independent of other lipoprotein variables and in particular of VLDL lipid levels that were, as expected, inversely related to HDL2-cholesterol. HDL2-cholesterol is believed to be a strong protective factor against atherosclerosis, while doubts exist on the meaning of VLDL lipids as risk factors. Thus, the decrease in HDL2-cholesterol concentration, rather than the increase in VLDL lipids, might give a rational basis to the high incidence rate of vascular disease in obese subjects.

Human adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase: changes with feeding and relation to postheparin plasma enzyme

An assay procedure using three different methods to recover lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity from biopsy specimens of human adipose tissue has been developed. Elution of enzyme from small pieces of tissue was performed at 4 and 37 degrees C using a physiological buffer containing heparin and serum. Extraction of enzyme from a tissue homogenate was carried out in the presence of detergent (sodium deoxycholate and Nonidet P-40), which markedly improved the recovery of enzyme activity. It is suggested that elution at 4 degrees C represents extracellular enzyme activity only and therefore theoretically is the closest measure of physiologically active LPL on vascular endothelium, whereas elution at 37 degrees C, in addition, reflects some intracellular enzyme secreted during the incubation period. In female subjects of various relative body weights activity eluted at 37 degrees C as well as detergent-extracted activity were highly correlated with the extracellular activity eluted at 4 degrees C (r = 0.9). Furthermore, all three parameters correlated strongly with LPL activity in post-heparin plasma, suggesting that they are valid indices of physiologically active LPL. The regression of LPL activity in plasma after a 60-min heparin infusion on adipose tissue LPL yielded higher correlation coefficients for activities recorded after elution at 4 and 37 degrees C (r = 0.725 and 0.754, respectively) than for detergent extraction (r = 0.607). Moreover, the increment of adipose tissue LPL after feeding was approximately twice as high for the activity eluted at 4 and 37 degrees C (34%) as for detergent-extracted activity (19%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Absence of lipoprotein lipase in cultured human adipose stromal cells

To develop a system for studying the regulation of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in human cells, we isolated cells from the stromalvascular fraction of human adipose tissue and propagated them in tissue culture. These cells were cultured in medium containing fetal bovine, horse, or human sera in the absence or presence of aminoglycoside antibiotics. After the cells had been at confluence for at least 1 week, they were exposed to medium containing insulin, 3-isobutyl-l-methylxanthine (IBMX), and dexamethasone, in an attempt to induce differentiation into cells which produce LPL. Stromal cells in 62 cultures from 20 subjects were monitored for any LPL activity secreted into the culture medium. In addition, cultures were assayed for activity releasable with heparin, and extractable from cell digests in nonionic detergent. Upon reaching confluence, the human adipose tissue stromal cells began to accumulate lipid droplets. However, no consistent LPL activity was measured in the culture medium or after exposure to heparin. Five cultures contained a minimal amount of detergent extractable hydrolytic activity. In contrast, cultures of rat stromal cells not exposed to insulin, IBMX, and dexamethasone, contained assayable LPL in the culture medium (3.3 +/- 1.6 nEq/min/ml) and in the heparin-releasable fraction (1.7 +/- 0.5 nEq/min/10(6)cells). Thus, human adipose tissue stromal cells do not represent a useful system for studying the regulation of LPL. Although these cells accumulate some lipid, the absence of measurable LPL suggests that complete differentiation has not yet occurred.

Lipoprotein lipase activity of adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and post-heparin plasma in primary endogenous hypertriglyceridaemia: relation to lipoprotein pattern and to obesity

The lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was determined from heparin eluates of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle and from post-heparin plasma of sixty-five males with hypertriglyceridaemia and of seventy males with normal serum lipid levels. The patients were subgrouped by their lipoprotein concentrations into types 2b, 4 and 5. The mean LPL activity of adipose tissue (per tissue weight) of nonobese type 2b, 4 and 5 patients was reduced to 54%, 41% and 13%, respectively, of the corresponding value of normolipidaemic men. On the other hand, among obese hyperglyceridaemic men only those with type 5 showed a decreased LPL activity in adipose tissue (44%). The mean skeletal muscle LPL was subnormal in nonobese type 4 (55%) and in type 5 patients (34%) but was normal in type 2b and in obese type 4 patients. The post-heparin plasma LPL activity was significantly reduced in all nonobese hyperglyceridaemic groups but was normal in obese patients apart from cases with type 5 who had low values. One exceptional subject with type 5 had high post-heparin plasma LPL activity. It is concluded that a low LPL activity may be a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of hypertriglyceridaemia in nonobese subjects and in patients having type 5 disorder.

Characterization of lipase activities in obese Pima indians. Decreases with weight reduction

Adipose tissue and muscle lipoprotein lipase and postheparin hepatic and lipoprotein lipase activities have been measured in a group of 21 Pima Indian males over a wide range of body weight to determine the relationship between obesity and these lipase activities. There was a significant positive correlation between adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase and obesity; muscle and postheparin lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase were not related to degree of obesity. Fasting insulin levels were not related to any of the measurements of lipase activity. There were racial differences in adipose and postheparin lipoprotein lipase activities; both were significantly lower in the Pimas as compared with a group of weight-matched Caucasian males. Lipase activities were remeasured in eight subjects after a period of weight reduction including several weeks of stabilization at the reduced weights. After the period of weight reduction adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase declined in all subjects. Hepatic lipase also declined in all but two patients. Muscle and postheparin lipolytic activities were not affected by weight loss. The data indicate that (a) there are racial differences in adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase; and (b) the elevated adipose lipoprotein lipase associated with obesity, like many other biochemical variables in the obese state, returns toward normal after weight reduction.

Insulin stimulation of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase. Use of the euglycemic clamp technique

The role of insulin in the regulation of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in humans was investigated in 11 normal subjects and compared with the effects of 0.9% saline infusions in five control subjects. After a basal adipose tissue biopsy for lipoprotein lipase activity, insulin was rapidly infused to achieve and maintain serum levels of approximately 70 microunits/ml while plasma glucose was kept at basal concentrations. Free fatty acids in serum fell to 27 +/- 3% of basal by 20 min (t = 5.19, P less than 0.001) and triglycerides decreased to 77 +/- 3% of basal by 80 min (t = 3.76, P less than 0.01). Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity failed to increase significantly above that measured in controls by the first 3 h of the study. By 6 h of the infusion a stimulatory effect of insulin on adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase was found (t = 3.94, P less than 0.01). There was no relationship between the amount of glucose infused and the insulin effect on the enzyme. The increase in adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity at 6 h, however, was inversely related to the basal lipase activity (r = -0.690, P less than 0.02). Thus, insulin appears to stimulate adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in humans. This effect of insulin is delayed when compared with antilipolysis and the fall in plasma triglyceride. The inverse relationship between insulin-stimulated adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity and basal enzyme activity suggests that adipose tissue itself is the main regulator of the lipase response to insulin.

Regulation of high density lipoprotein levels

Current concepts of the structure and metabolism of high density lipoproteins are presented and factors that influence their levels in human beings are surveyed.

Lipoprotein lipase activity and serum lipoproteins in untreated type 2 (insulin-independent) diabetes associated with obesity

Serum lipoproteins and the heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle were measured in 36 untreated obese patients with Type 2 (insulin-independent) diabetes and the values were compared with those of non-diabetic subjects of similar age, sex and relative body weight. In diabetic men, the LPL activity of adipose tissue was significantly reduced when expressed per tissue weight or per fat cell (p less than 0.01). Diabetic females had slightly but not significantly lower LPL activity in adipose tissue than the non-diabetic females. The muscle LPL activity was similar in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects of both sexes. When the diabetic men were classified according to fasting blood glucose, the patients with high glucose levels had lower adipose tissue LPL activity than those with moderate hyperglycemia. In both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, there was a significant positive correlation between HDL cholesterol concentrations and adipose tissue LPL activity. It is concluded that Type 2 diabetes influences adipose tissue LPL activity and plasma lipoprotein concentrations and that this effect is superimposed on the similar changes produced by obesity alone.

Effects of weight reduction on plasma lipoproteins and adipose tissue metabolism in obese subjects

The relationship between obesity and alterations in adipose tissue metabolism and lipid transport was studied in fourteen obese subjects before and after a weight reduction of 4-22 kg. Blood glucose and plasma insulin patterns after peroral glucose intake improved significantly, and plasma glucagon levels decreased markedly after treatment. Plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were not altered, but there was a 20% (P less than 0.05) increase in HDL concentrations. Plasma free fatty acid and glycerol concentrations decreased, in parallel to a decrease in lipolysis rate in vitro. Lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase activities in postheparin plasma, as well as the intravenous fat tolerance test, were normal and did not change significantly after weight loss. Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue, expressed per cell, was elevated and did not change after weight reduction. Also, the enzyme activity did not increase after glucose intake before or after treatment. The lack of effect on lipoprotein lipase activity and regulation in combination with significant improvements of other aspects of lipid and glucose transport is consistent with the view that alterations in LPL activity and regulation may represent an early and possibly primary defect in the development of obesity.

Increase of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity with weight loss

Obese subjects have elevated adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity per fat cell when compared with lean control subjects. This enzyme, which is rate limiting for the uptake and storage of lipoprotein triglyceride in adipose tissue, has been shown to be further elevated in a group of previously obese subjects who had been weight stable at a reduced weight for 4-28 mo. In the present prospective study of eight obese subjects, adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity was demonstrated to increase after weight stabilization at a reduced weight (0.33 mU/10(6) cells). In three subjects who lost weight and subsequently regained their lost weight, the enzyme activity increased after weight loss and then returned toward the original basal level with weight gain. One subject who maintained his weight loss for 10 mo. continued to have an elevated level of enzyme activity. Because adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity does not "normalize" after weight loss, we hypothesize that this enzyme may play a counterregulatory role in resisting deviation from a "set point" for fat mass or fat cell size and thereby predispose to reattainment of the original obese state.

Diet, pregnancy, and lactation: effects on adipose tissue, lipoprotein lipase, and fat cell size

Adipose tissue fat cell size and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity were determined in the retroperitoneal and subscapular depots of nonpregnant, pregnant, and postpartum rats fed either a standard laboratory diet or a high-fat diet containing 55% fat by weight. High-fat feeding for 20 days increased, in nonpregnant rats, fat cell size and LPL activity two- to threefold in both depots. In pregnant rats at term, fat cell size was increased and LPL activity was depressed in both dietary groups. Twenty days postpartum, both retroperitoneal fat cell size and LPL activity were decreased in proportion to the size of the litter. Rats not allowed to lactate had fat cell sizes and LPL activity that were not significantly different than in nonpregnant controls. Fat cell size and LPL activity in rats nursing four pups were reduced to 77% and 36% of control, respectively. Those nursing a normal-sized litter of eight pups demonstrated a further reduction of fat cell size to 38% and of LPL activity to 2% of nonpregnant control values. High-fat feeding and obesity did not prevent the fat loss and decreased LPL activity associated with lactation; fat cell size was decreased to 61% and LPL activity to 3% of control values. Values for the subscapular depot followed essentially the same pattern as that observed for the retroperitoneal depot. Mammary LPL activity was increased more than tenfold in animals nursing four or eight pups compared with values at term, whereas no activity was detected in rats not allowed to lactate.

A micromethod for assay of lipoprotein lipase activity in needle biopsy samples of human adipose tissue and skeletal muscle

A rapid and simple procedure for assay of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in small amounts of human adipose tissue and skeletal muscle is described and validated. The enzyme is eluted from tissues with heparin and the activity is determined from the eluate by measuring the release of [14C]oleic acid from a gum arabic stabilized emulsion of glycerol-tri[14C]oleate in a Tris-buffer medium containing albumin and pooled normal human serum. Reproducible results are obtained with amounts of tissue ranging from 2 to 25 mg. The Km values of the adipose tissue and skeletal muscle LPL for the triolein substrate were 0.74 +/- 0.06 and 0.77 +/- 0.05 mmol/l, respectively. The standard radioactive triolein emulsion was hydrolyzed by adipose tissue LPL at a rate closely similar to rat VLDL-triglyceride labeled in vivo with [1-14C]palmitic acid, suggesting that the experimental substrate behaved in a similar manner to the natural substrate. The LPL activity was much higher in adipose tissue than in muscle. In adipose tissue the LPL activity was 2--4 times higher in women than in men whereas no sex difference was present in the LPL activity of muscle.

Postprandial adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in primary hypertriglyceridemia

The fasting activity of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase has been previously reported to be either normal or reduced in subjects with a primary form of hypertriglyceridemia. The postprandial activity of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase has not been previously reported in these subjects. In subjects with primary hypertriglyceridemia the fasting lipoprotein lipase activity eluted from pieces of adipose tissue by heparin and the enzyme activity present in extracts of acetone--ether tissue powders were similar to the level of enzyme activity found in normal subjects. There also was no difference in the postprandial adipose tissue heparin-elutable lipoprotein lipase activity between these two groups when measured after high carbohydrate feeding. When the subjects with primary hypertriglyceridemia were further subdivided by genetic diagnosis, there was no difference in the level of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase of subjects with familial hypertriglyceridemia, familial combined hyperlipidemia, or in those in whom no specific genetic diagnosis could be made. The change in lipoprotein lipase activity after feeding was inversely related to the fasting enzyme level in both the normal subjects (r = -0.58, p less than 0.05, n = 12) and the hypertriglyceridemic subjects (r = -0.92, p less than 0.01, n = 11). In the normal subjects, the plasma triglyceride response to feeding correlated inversely with the postprandial change in lipoprotein lipase activity (r = -0.76, p less than 0.02, n = 12). Adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity in patients with primary lipoprotein lipase deficiency was markedly reduced in the fasting state and remained essentially zero after feeding. This suggests that a functional role exists for the enzyme activity as measured.

Effects of caloric restriction on lipid metabolism in man: changes of tissue lipoprotein lipase activities and of serum lipoproteins

Heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was measured in biopsy samples of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of 8 normal healthy females, first during an isocaloric diet and then after 2 and 7 days on a 400-kcal diet. In adipose tissue the LPL activity expressed per tissue weight fell to 38% and to 22% of the initial level after 2 and 7 days' caloric restriction, respectively. In skeletal muscle the LPL activity rose slightly after two days (+24%) but decreased to 49% of the initial value after seven days on diet. The estimated total body LPL activity decreased to 50% and to 20% of the baseline value after 2 and 7 days, respectively, but the relative contribution of skeletal muscle to the total LPL increased from 10 to 30%. The triglyceride and VLDL triglyceride concentrations were not significantly changed during the low calorie diet but the LDL triglyceride increased and the HDL cholesterol decreased significantly (P less than 0.01). It is concluded that substantial restriction of calorie intake results in a decrease of over-all triglyceride removal capacity but in an increase of the fraction removed by skeletal muscle. The decrease of HDL cholesterol is probably a consequence of the low turnover of exogenous and endogenous triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.

Lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of runners: relation to serum lipoproteins

Physically well-trained people generally have lower VLDL-triglyceride and higher HDL-cholesterol levels than sedentary subjects. To examine the underlying mechanisms of this lipoprotein pattern, we measured the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in needle biopsy specimens of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of competitive runners and of body weight-matched, physically less-active controls. The active sportsmen were either sprinters, whose training program consisted mainly of athletics of short duration or long distance runners undergoing a strenuous endurance exercise program. In sprinters (all males) the serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations did not differ significantly from those of controls and the mean LPL activities in muscle and adipose tissue were also similar in these two groups. The long distance runners (both sexes), on the other hand, had higher means levels of HDL-cholesterol than the respective controls. The LPL-activity of both adipose tissue (p less than 0.05) and skeletal muscle (p less than 0.01) was significantly higher in male long distance runners than in control males. Female runners had higher muscle LPL activity than controls (p less than 0.01) but in adipose tissue the difference in LPL activity was not significant. Rough estimates calculated for LPL activity present in whole body adipose tissue and skeletal muscle indicated that total LPL activity was 2.3 times higher in male long distance runners and 1.5 times higher in female long distance runners than in the respective controls. In combined groups of male runners and controls, there was a highly significant positive correlation between the serum HDL-cholesterol level and the LPL activity of adipose tissue expressed per tissue weight (r = +0.72, p less than 0.001) or per whole body fat (r = +0.62, p less than 0.001). The group means of HDL-cholesterol and adipose tissue LPL activity in the five cohorts studied (male sprinters, distance runners and controls and female distance runners and controls) were also positively correlated (r = +0.94). It is concluded that endurance training is associated with an adaptive increase of LPL activity not only in skeletal muscle but also in adipose tissue. These changes are not observed in sprinters who are trained by exercises of shorter duration. The high HDL-cholesterol levels of physically well-trained people are probably accounted for, at least partly, by the increased LPL activity and the concomitant rapid turnover or triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.

Postheparin plasma lipase activities in obesity: failure to increase with adipose organ enlargement

Published studies have shown that overproduction of very low density lipoproteins is a major factor leading to hypertiglyceridemia in obesity. Few systematic studies of triglyceride removal or postheparin lipoprotein lipase activity (LPLA) in obesity have appeared. We have examined heparin-released lipoprotein triglyceride hydrolase activities in 12 lean and 12 obese age- and sex-matched volunteers after overnight fasting. Heparin doses were calculated to compensate for the disproportionality between body mass and plasma volume in obesity. Triglyceride hydrolase activities of hepatic (HTGLA) and extrahepatic (LPLA) origin were distinguished by in vitro inhibition of LPLA with protamine sulfate. Incremental heparin doses were given to each subject to determine lipase activities under conditions of maximal release and to define sensitivity to heparin-facilitated lipase release. Maximal postheparin LPLA and HTGLA (u/ml plasma or u/total plasma vol) were similar in lean and obese individuals despite a nearly three-fold increase in calculated adipose tissue mass in the obese. Since adipose tissue LPLA has been reported to increase in proportion to adipocyte size, the lack of difference in maximal postheparin LPLA was expected. There was an inverse correlation between plasma triglyceride concentration and LPLA/kg adipose tissue. These empirical observations may reflect relatively decreased heparin-releaseable (functional) LPLA in relation to adipose organ mass in obese subjects. The mechanism of this relationship has not been established.