Nascent lipoproteins from recirculating and nonrecirculating liver perfusions and from the hepatic Golgi apparatus of African green monkeys.

Perfusate apoB-100-containing lipoproteins from the isolated, perfused livers of African green monkeys consist of significant amounts of d greater than 1.006 g/ml particles in addition to very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). Distinguishing characteristics of these perfusate lipoproteins are the relative abundance of surface lipids and deficiency of core lipids. The present studies were performed to determine the likelihood that the d greater than 1.006 g/ml perfusate lipoproteins are secretion products instead of products of post-secretory modification (e.g., lipolysis) of secreted VLDL. [14C]Leucine from the perfusate became incorporated into the apoB of each of the perfusate lipoprotein classes to a similar extent in both recirculating and nonrecirculating perfusions. When endogenously radiolabeled perfusate VLDL from one liver was recirculated through a second liver, only about 15% of the radiolabeled protein appeared in the d greater than 1.006 g/ml fraction. The particle morphology and the cholesterol and apoB distribution between VLDL and d greater than 1.006 g/ml fractions were similar in recirculating and nonrecirculating perfusions. A Golgi apparatus-rich fraction was isolated from the homogenates of fresh liver samples and the isolated Golgi VLDL and d greater than 1.006 g/ml lipoproteins exhibited morphologic evidence of extra surface material analogous to that seen in perfusate. Taken together, these data support the possibility that significant amounts of d greater than 1.006 g/ml lipoproteins, many with surface-rich properties, are nascent, secretory products of the primate liver. The low level of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) in this perfusion system appears to permit detection of these secretion products and it is significant to note that the perfusate lipoprotein profile, which is unlike that of normal plasma, is similar to that of LCAT-deficient patients.