The relationship between hepatic low-density lipoprotein receptor activity and serum cholesterol level in the human fetus.
We found that the binding of 125I-low-density lipoprotein to fetal liver low-density lipoprotein receptor rose progressively with the increase in fetal age. During this period, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in fetal serum declined significantly. The correlation coefficients between fetal age and concentration of serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were -0.80 (p less than 0.001) and -0.77 (p less than 0.001), respectively. A significant inverse correlation also existed between the liver low-density lipoprotein receptor activity and the serum total cholesterol (r = -0.96, p less than 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = -0.95, p less than 0.001) but not high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It is suggested that the low-density lipoprotein receptors in human fetal liver may play a key role in the regulation of the serum cholesterol levels during gestation.
Cai
H J
HJ
Department of Pathophysiology, Nanjing Medical College, People's Republic of China.
Xie
C L
CL
Chen
Q
Q
Chen
X Y
XY
Chen
Y H
YH
D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000032:analysis*
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D011973:Receptors, LDL; D002784:Cholesterol