Acute inhibition of hepatic lipase and increase in plasma lipoproteins after alcohol intake.

Chronic alcohol intake is associated with an increase in fasting plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL). To study alcohol's acute effects on plasma lipoproteins, we measured plasma lipoprotein concentrations and activities of postheparin plasma lipases in nine normolipemic males after ingestion of 40 g of ethanol (as whiskey). After alcohol there was no change in lipoprotein lipase activity but hepatic lipase was decreased to 67% of baseline at 6 hr. There were associated increases in HDL phospholipids (12 mg/dl) and cholesterol (10 mg/dl) resulting in prominence of larger, lipid-enriched HDL particles. Changes were most pronounced in the HDL3 and HDL2a subclasses. Very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) phospholipids and cholesterol were also increased by 13 and 9 mg/dl, respectively, with no significant change in triglycerides. Changes in lipoproteins and lipase were largely reversed 10 hr after alcohol intake. The transient increases in VLDL and HDL lipids after alcohol may result in part from acute inhibition of hepatic lipase activity. The results suggest a role of hepatic lipase in the catabolism of phospholipids of VLDL and possibly HDL.