"Sinking" lipoprotein in normal, hyperlipoproteinaemic and atherosclerotic patients.

The presence of a "sinking" lipoprotein (SLP), demonstrated by combining electrophoretic and ultracentrifugal methods, has been recorded in 13.6% of 44 normal subjects, in 62.2% of 37 hyperlipoproteinaemic patients with types IIA, IIB and IV and in 39.8% of 107 atherosclerotic patients. The recorded data suggest that the "sinking" lipoprotein may be related to human atherosclerosis and to hyperipoproteinaemic states. A pre-beta (S band in the fraction with density greater than 1.006 appeared in 2 out of 20 subjects receiving as isocaloric hyperglucidic diet (CHO, 80; F, 5;P, 15) for 8 days and in 3 out of 10 subjects receiving an acute ethanol oral load. The nature of the nutritionally determined lipoprotein is doubtful. It seems improbable that the newly synthetized lipoprotein is the "true" sinking lipoprotein as this considered to be a genetically determined marker. These data may signify that other "sinking" lipoproteins unrelated to LP-Berg system may exist or may be determined. It is also probable that the new synthetized lipoprotein may have some relationship with the "intermediate" lipoprotein.