Vitamin A loading--an indicator of post-prandial lipoprotein clearance in healthy and hypertriglyceridemic subjects.

To study post-prandial lipoprotein metabolism in normolipidemic and hypertriglyceridemic subjects, a vitamin A fat loading test was used. This method specifically labels dietary fat particles with retinyl palmitate (RP). Following RP concentrations, metabolic behavior of chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants were studied. In normal subjects, post-prandial lipoproteins were present for more than 10 h. Total RP increased rapidly between 1 and 4 h, peaked at 6 h and declined rapidly between 6 and 10 h. The chylomicron and chylomicron remnant fractions behaved differently, showing precursor product relationship. The hypertriglyceridemic patients demonstrated a very severe defect in chylomicron clearance. This fraction was 2.8-fold higher than in normal subjects, which was 7,260 vs. 2,600 micrograms/l, respectively. The large magnitude and long duration of post-prandial lipemia in normal and hypertriglyceridemic patients support the hypothesis that these atherogenic particles may play a role in the development of coronary heart disease.