Two-dimensional nondenaturing electrophoresis of lipoproteins: applications to high-density lipoprotein speciation.

No single technique is able to separate each of the many HDL species present in native plasma. Some are present in only trace proportions. Some HDL have no obvious independent metabolic role, beyond perhaps serving as reservoirs of apoproteins active in metabolic events in other lipoproteins. The choice of HDL analytical technique depends mainly on the problem under study. Two-dimensional nondenaturing electrophoresis has been useful in studies of plasma cholesterol metabolism and cholesterol transport from cells, because it separates intermediates in these processes.