Dietary fish oils modify the assembly of VLDL and expression of the LDL receptor in rabbit liver.

Supplementation of the diet of rabbits with fish oil or sunflower oil resulted in significant changes in the lipoproteins and lipids in serum. Compared with chow-fed rabbits, dietary fish oils decreased very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), increased low density lipoprotein (LDL), and shifted the peak of the LDL to denser fractions, whereas sunflower oil increased high density lipoprotein and shifted LDL to the lighter fractions. The amount of LDL receptors in fish oil-fed rabbit liver decreased by > 70% while there was only a small fall in these levels in sunflower oil-fed rabbit liver. The concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo) B in the subcellular organelles of the secretory compartment (rough and smooth endoplasmic reticula and Golgi fractions) were also changed by dietary lipids. In both sunflower oil- and fish oil-fed liver, apo B was increased in the lumen of the rough endoplasmic reticulum compared with fractions from chow-fed rabbit liver. The apo B in the trans-Golgi lumen from fish oil-fed livers was reduced and occurred in particles of d approximately 1.21 g/mL. In contrast, apo B in the trans-Golgi lumen from livers of sunflower oil-fed rabbits was increased and occurred in particles of d < 1.21 g/mL. These results suggests that feeding of fish oils causes an interruption in the intracellular transfer of apo B and hence assembly of VLDL. This leads to an enrichment of the rough endoplasmic reticulum membranes with cholesterol, thus downregulating the expression of the LDL receptor.