Transfer of cholesteryl linoleyl ether from phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine liposomes to cultured cells catalyzed by lipoprotein lipase.

Unilamellar liposomes prepared from purified phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine or sphingomyelin) and labeled cholesteryl linoleyl ether were used to study lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed transfer of cholesteryl ester into cells in culture. In mesenchymal rat heart cell cultures, the transfer of cholesteryl linoleyl ether and cholesteryl linoleate was similar and related to the activity of endogenously produced lipoprotein lipase. In human skin fibroblasts transfer of labeled cholesteryl linoleyl ether was proportional to the concentration of milk lipoprotein lipase added to the incubation medium. Liposomes prepared from phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylethanolamine were much better donors of cholesteryl ether to normal and apolipoprotein E-B receptor-negative fibroblasts and to endothelial cells than those prepared from sphingomyelin. Lysophosphatidylcholine was formed during incubation with milk lipoprotein lipase but was not considered to be directly responsible for the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed transfer of cholesteryl ether. This conclusion was drawn because in the absence of lipoprotein lipase addition of lysophosphatidylcholine to liposomes, or almost complete phospholipolysis by phospholipase A2, did not result in the transfer of cholesteryl linoleyl ether from liposomes to cells. Attachment of lipoprotein lipase to the cell surface was mandatory for the transfer of cholesteryl ether and could be prevented by heparin. High density apolipoprotein reduced also the transfer of cholesteryl linoleyl ether, even though it did not interfere with the binding of labeled milk lipoprotein lipase to cultured fibroblasts. The present results provide evidence that lipoprotein lipase, and not the products of phospholipid hydrolysis, is the ligand for the non-apolipoprotein E-B receptor-mediated transfer of cholesteryl ester to cells.