title: Glycosaminoglycans and apolipoproteins B and A-I in human aortas. Chemical and immunological analysis of lesion-free aortas from children and adults.
abstract: To study changes in the contents of plasma lipoproteins in human arteries with age and the relationship of lipoproteins with other arterial constituents, we analyzed the contents of apolipoproteins B (apo B) and A-I (apo A-I), free and esterified cholesterol, and glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in lesion-free aortic intimas of 30 children and adults. The content of apo B increased significantly with age, whereas that of apo A-I remained relatively constant. Apo B and apo A-I had significant positive correlations with the content of chondroitin sulphates A + C (CS A + C), which comprised 35% to 47% of the aortic GAG. The correlations remained significant after correction for the effect of age. Aortic apo B, but not apo A-I, also showed significant positive correlations with the contents of intimal free and esterified cholesterol. The results indicate that: considerable amounts of apo B and apo A-I can be found in lesion-free aortic intimas; there is an age-related rise in the content of apo B and a fall in the ratio of apo A-I to apo B, which are unfavorable developments in the light of current views on atherogenesis; the contents of the apolipoproteins are proportional to that of CS A + C, which might have a role in the retention of lipoproteins in the arteries.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000378:metabolism*; D001054:Apolipoproteins A / Q000378:metabolism*; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007223:Infant
chemical_list: D001054:Apolipoproteins A; D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D002784:Cholesterol