Laplaud P M, Beaubatie L, Maurel D
J Lipid Res. 1980 Aug;21(6):724-38.
The European badger has previously been shown to exhibit yearly cycles of locomotor activity, endocrine secretions, and body weight, as well as seasonal variations in plasma cholesterol. Over a period of 2 years, we have followed the plasma levels of free and esterified cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids, and of plasma lipoproteins (by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, agarose column chromatography and preparative and analytical ultracentrifugation). Some preliminary observations on the qualitative characteristics of the plasma apoproteins, obtained by application of electrophoretic techniques, are also described. Our results provide evidence for considerable synchronous and spontaneous variations of each of the plasma lipid components studied, all of them reaching a maximum in late autumn/early winter, then decreasing to a minimum in early spring. In some animals, the amplitude of observed variations was as large as 650% for total cholesterol, 420% for phospholipids and 180% for triglycerides. While the plasma concentration of very low density lipoproteins (d < 1.006 g/ml) remained at low or moderate levels, major changes in the lipoprotein spectrum occurred in the low density (1.006--1.063 g/ml) and high density (1.063--1.21 g/ml) lipoproteins, these two classes exhibiting marked heterogeneity. This led to an autumn/winter prominence of the 1,006--1.063 g/ml components and of those in the lower part of the high density range, with an enrichment in cholesterol in lipoproteins in the low density region. These phenomena occur simultaneously and/or immediately after the annual minimum of plasma thyroxine concentration in the species considered. In contrast, early spring patterns displayed more classical features with higher density lipoproteins predominating. Our findings thus suggest that the badger may provide a useful model for future experiments regarding the hormonal regulation of plasma lipid transport as well as the metabolism and physiopathological implications of some cholesterol-rich lipoproteins.
欧洲獾此前已被证明会表现出运动活动、内分泌分泌和体重的年度周期，以及血浆胆固醇的季节性变化。在两年的时间里，我们追踪了游离胆固醇和酯化胆固醇、甘油三酯和磷脂以及血浆脂蛋白的血浆水平（通过聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳、琼脂糖柱色谱以及制备性和分析性超速离心法）。还描述了通过电泳技术获得的关于血浆载脂蛋白定性特征的一些初步观察结果。我们的结果为所研究的每种血浆脂质成分存在相当大的同步和自发变化提供了证据，所有这些成分在深秋/初冬达到最大值，然后在早春降至最小值。在一些动物中，观察到的总胆固醇变化幅度高达650%，磷脂为420%，甘油三酯为180%。虽然极低密度脂蛋白（d < 1.006 g/ml）的血浆浓度保持在低或中等水平，但脂蛋白谱在低密度（1.006 - 1.063 g/ml）和高密度（1.063 - 1.21 g/ml）脂蛋白中发生了主要变化，这两类脂蛋白表现出明显的异质性。这导致了1.006 - 1.063 g/ml成分以及高密度范围较低部分的成分在秋冬突出，低密度区域的脂蛋白中胆固醇含量增加。这些现象在所研究物种血浆甲状腺素浓度年度最小值同时和/或之后立即出现。相比之下，早春模式表现出更典型的特征，以较高密度脂蛋白为主。因此，我们的研究结果表明，獾可能为未来关于血浆脂质运输的激素调节以及一些富含胆固醇脂蛋白的代谢和生理病理意义的实验提供一个有用的模型。
