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The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 82, No. 1 182-187
Copyright © 1997 by The Endocrine Society


Experimental Studies

Transfer of Dehydroepiandrosterone- and Pregnenolone-Fatty Acid Esters between Human Lipoproteins1

Pierre R. Provost2, Bernard Lavallée3 and Alain Bélanger

Medical Research Council Group in Molecular Endocrinology, CHUL Research Center and Laval University, Quebec, Canada G1V 4G2

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Alain Bélanger, Medical Research Council Group in Molecular Endocrinology, CHUL Research Center, 2705 Laurier Boulevard, Quebec, Canada G1V 4G2.


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)- and pregnenolone (PREG)-fatty acid esters (FA) are formed in plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL), whereas they accumulate in very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), and HDL. We have hypothesized that these lipoidal steroids could be transferred from HDL to VLDL and LDL by the cholesteryl ester (CE) transfer protein (CETP), which mediates CE transfer activity in human plasma. In this study, we further investigated this hypothesis. Lipoproteins and lipoprotein-deficient plasma (LPDP) were purified and analyzed by Western blots. LPDP was rich in CETP, in contrast to lipoprotein preparations, which contained very low amounts. Using these preparations in in vitro transfer assays, CE transfer from radiolabeled steroid ester-HDL to VLDL or LDL was only observed in the presence of LPDP. In contrast, time- and temperature-dependent transfer of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA were observed in the absence of LPDP. The addition of LPDP had no effect on the DHEA-FA transfer rate, whereas the PREG-FA transfer rate was increased. Moreover, in the absence of LPDP, no decrease in the transfer levels of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA was observed after the removal of CETP from lipoprotein preparations by immunoaffinity column chromatography. The PREG-FA transfer activity of LPDP was studied using the anti-CETP monoclonal antibody TP-2, which is known to block the CE transfer activity of CETP. In the presence of LPDP, this antibody led to a dose-dependent decrease in CE transfer activity, whereas PREG-FA transfer activity was unaffected.

In conclusion, we have shown that DHEA-FA and PREG-FA are transferred from HDL to VLDL and LDL by a CETP-independent mechanism. There is a major difference in the transport of lipoidal steroids by human lipoproteins compared to that of CE.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
THE PRESENCE of steroidal fatty acid esters (-FA) was characterized many years ago, and almost every family of steroid is known to occur in esterified form (1, 2). For example, 3ß-hydroxy-5-ene-steroids such as pregnenolone (PREG), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and androst-5-ene-3ß,17ß-diol can be converted to FA counterparts by the lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme present in high density lipoproteins (HDL) (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). Analysis of the distribution of these compounds in lipoproteins has revealed the presence of lipoidal steroids in all major lipoprotein classes, but predominantly in low density lipoproteins (LDL) (6, 7, 9). This suggests that nonpolar steroids are transferred to LDL and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) after their formation by HDL (10, 11). Recent work by our group has demonstrated that PREG-FA incorporated into LDL may be used as substrate for adrenal and ovarian steroid synthesis (9, 12, 13). Moreover, internalization of [3H]DHEA-FA from LDL carriers was observed after incubation with breast cancer cells (6), suggesting that peripheral tissues may also use circulating DHEA-FA as a substrate for androgen or estrogen synthesis (14). Taken together, these observations suggest a role for DHEA-FA and PREG-FA, and the mechanism by which these compounds are transferred between lipoproteins is important to investigate.

It is well established that cholesteryl esters (CE) are transferred between human lipoproteins by CE transfer protein (CETP) (15, 16). We, therefore, postulated that the transfer of PREG-FA and DHEA-FA between lipoproteins could also depend on the activity of CETP. The present study demonstrated that tritiated DHEA-FA and PREG-FA incorporated in HDL are transferred to VLDL and LDL, and that these transfer activities are not dependent of CETP.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Materials

[1,2,6,7-3H]Cholesterol (91.5 Ci/mmol), [7-3H]PREG (25.0 Ci/mmol), and [1,2,6,7-3H]DHEA (92.0 Ci/mmol) were purchased from New England Nuclear-DuPont (Boston, MA). Silica gel thin layer plates were supplied by E. Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). Sodium heparin and lyophilized fatty acid-free human serum albumin were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO). Cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose 4B was obtained from Pharmacia (Uppsala, Sweden).

Human plasma and lipoproteins

Human plasma-ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTA) was collected from fasting men, aged 24–37 yr, who were taking no medication. VLDL (density, <1.006 g/mL), LDL (1.006< density <1.063 g/mL), HDL (1.063< density <1.210 g/mL), and lipoprotein-deficient plasma (LPDP; density, >1.210 g/mL) were isolated by sequential ultracentrifugation (17) and dialyzed against the buffer used for transfer assays (transfer assay buffer, 50 mmol/L Tris, pH 7.4; 150 mmol/L NaCl; and 2 mmol/L EDTA). LPDP was adjusted to the initial plasma volume by the addition of transfer assay buffer. The protein content of lipoproteins was measured using a protein assay kit (P5656) from Sigma Chemical Co.

HDL labeling with tritiated PREG or DHEA

HDL were labeled with radioactive steroid esters as previously described (6, 9, 12). After dialysis against the transfer assay buffer, radioactivity was determined, and the preparations were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC). In typical preparations, PREG-FA and DHEA-FA represented more than 99% of the radioactive counts, whereas CE-labeled HDL contained 80% and 20% of radiolabeled CE and unesterified cholesterol, respectively.

In vitro transfer assays

Transfer assays were performed as previously described (18) with slight modifications. For each determination, two tubes were prepared and incubated at 0 and 37 C, respectively. Briefly, 23,000–35,000 dpm of radiolabeled steroid esters-HDL and -VLDL or -LDL, which correspond to 15 or 20 µg protein, were used. A volume of 12–15 µL LPDP was added when indicated, and final volumes were adjusted to 100 µL with the transfer assay buffer. After incubation, the apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins (VLDL or LDL) were precipitated with heparin-MnCl2, as previously described (18), and removed by centrifugation at 4 C for 15 min at 3,000 rpm in a Sorvall RC-3 centrifuge (Sorvall, New York, NY). Radioactive counts were determined in the resulting supernatants using a Wallac liquid scintillation counter (model 1411). For calculating the percentage of CE transfer, tubes incubated at 0 C were used as controls without transfer as described by Tollefson and Albers (19). We have also assumed that the tubes incubated at 0 C corresponded to controls without transfer for DHEA-FA and PREG-FA. The percentage of lipoidal steroid transferred from HDL to VLDL or LDL was thus calculated as follows: [(dpm0 C - dpm37 C) x 100]/dpm0 C.

Immunoaffinity column chromatography

The anti-CETP monoclonal antibody TP-2 (a gift from Dr. Ross Milne, Ottawa, Canada) was coupled to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia) using 10 mg IgG/mL Sepharose. Lipoprotein samples were dialyzed against 10 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.4) and 140 mmol/L NaCl and then loaded on the column equilibrated in the same buffer. Unbound fractions were collected. Lipoproteins were dialyzed against the transfer assay buffer, and the amounts of HDL radioactivity and LDL proteins were determined.

Western blot analysis

SDS-PAGE was performed as previously described (20). Gels were blotted onto Hybond-C Extra membranes (Amersham Corp., Arlington Heights, IL) using the method of Towbin et al. (21). CETP was detected using a mixture of the anti-CETP monoclonal antibodies TP-2 (15) and TP-14 (22) and with antimouse IgG-F(ab')2 linked to horseradish peroxidase (Sigma Chemical Co.). Signals were revealed with a chemiluminescence detection kit (ECL, Amersham Corp.) following exposure on a Reflection autoradiography film (NEF-495, DuPont Co.) for 1.5 min.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Incubation of radiolabeled unconjugated cholesterol, DHEA, and PREG with human plasma for 24 h led to the production of their FA counterparts in HDL by endogenous LCAT and the transfer of these newly formed lipoidal derivatives between lipoproteins. After isolation of lipoproteins, the relative amounts of newly formed lipoidal steroids associated with VLDL, LDL, and HDL were determined by TLC analysis. Figure 1Go shows the distribution of newly formed FA of steroids in lipoproteins at the end of the incubation. Similar proportions of newly formed CE, DHEA-FA, and PREG-FA were transferred from HDL to VLDL and LDL after their formation in HDL. The antibody TP-2 inhibits the transfer of CE by its interaction with the neutral lipid transfer domain of CETP (23), and therefore, the ability of this antibody to inhibit the transfer of lipoidal steroids was tested. When TP-2 was added, the proportion of CE associated with HDL was higher. However, the presence of the antibody had no effect on the DHEA-FA and PREG-FA transfer activities (Fig. 1Go).



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Figure 1. Distribution of newly formed CE, DHEA-FA, and PREG-FA among human plasma lipoproteins. Fifty microcuries of [3H]cholesterol, [3H]DHEA, and [3H]PREG were added to 1 mL human plasma-EDTA, and the mixtures were incubated for 24 h at 37 C alone or after addition of 10 µL of the monoclonal antibody TP-2. At the end of the incubation, lipoproteins were isolated and then analyzed by TLC to determine the proportion of radioactivity corresponding to lipoidal derivatives in each fraction compared to the total radioactivity count. The results are expressed as the percentage of total newly formed CE, DHEA-FA, and PREG-FA associated with VLDL ({blacksquare}), LDL (), and HDL ({square}). Results are the mean of duplicate determinations.

 
It is well documented that during isolation of lipoproteins by sequential ultracentrifugation, CETP dissociate from particles and are collected in LPDP (16, 24). Therefore, the addition of LPDP or another source of CETP is essential for the transfer of CE in in vitro transfer assays (24). As expected, this was confirmed in our transfer assays, as demonstrated in Fig. 2Go. The fact that the transfer of CE in the absence of LPDP did not increase over time (Fig. 2BGo) showed that no residual CETP activity was associated with isolated lipoproteins. As illustrated in Fig. 2Go, transfer of PREG-FA increased over time in the absence of LPDP, showing that a significant part of the PREG-FA transfer activity remained associated with lipoproteins. The addition of LPDP increased the PREG-FA transfer rate, indicating that a part of the PREG-FA transfer activity was also present in LPDP. In contrast, a high rate of DHEA-FA transfer was observed in the absence of LPDP, and this transfer was not affected by the addition of LPDP (Fig. 2Go). Similar results were obtained using LDL instead of VLDL as a source of acceptor lipoproteins (data not shown).



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Figure 2. Transfer of lipoidal steroids between isolated lipoproteins. In vitro transfer assays were performed using 23,000 dpm (A and B) or 35,000 dpm (C) radiolabeled steroid ester-HDL (0.7, 0.9, and 1.4 µg HDL proteins for radiolabeled CE, PREG-FA, and DHEA-FA, respectively) and an excess of acceptor VLDL (15, 20, and 15 µg VLDL proteins for A, B, and C, respectively). Fifteen microliters of LPDP were added when indicated, and the final volume was completed to 100 µL. The results are expressed as the percentage of radiolabeled CE (A and B), PREG-FA (A and B), or DHEA-FA (A and C) transferred from HDL to VLDL in 5.5 h (A) or the indicated time (B and C). The values are the mean (±SD) of duplicates from one selected experiment and correspond to the transfer at 37 C, calculated using the values obtained at 0 C as controls without transfer. Similar results were obtained using lipoproteins isolated from another subject (data not shown). A: {square}, Without LPDP; {blacksquare}, with LPDP. B: {square}, [3H]CE in the absence of LPDP; {blacksquare}, [3H]CE plus LPDP; {circ}, [3H]PREG-FA in the absence of LPDP; •, [3H]PREG-FA plus LPDP. C: {square}, [3H]DHEA-FA in the absence of LPDP; {blacksquare}, [3H]DHEA-FA plus LPDP.

 
In subsequent experiments, we investigated the transfer rates of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA from HDL donors in the presence of an excess of VLDL or LDL acceptors. Because PREG-FA and DHEA-FA transfer activities are mainly associated with lipoproteins, as shown in Fig. 2Go, we expressed the rate of transfer of these two lipoidal steroids in the absence of LPDP in picomoles of transferred steroid per mg HDL protein/h of incubation (Table 1Go). Our results suggest that the in vitro transfer rate of DHEA-FA is higher than that of PREG-FA. Table 1Go also shows that VLDL are better acceptors of PREG-FA than LDL, whereas no preferential acceptor was observed for DHEA-FA. The LPDP-dependent rates of transfer (rate of transfer in the presence of LPDP - rate of transfer in the absence of LPDP) were also determined (Table 1Go).


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Table 1. Rates of transfer of lipoidal steroids between lipoproteins in vitro

 
Our data demonstrate that DHEA-FA and PREG-FA transfer activities are associated with isolated lipoproteins, in contrast to CE transfer activity, which is found exclusively in LPDP. The presence of CETP in preparations of isolated lipoproteins and LPDP was then determined by Western blot analysis. Figure 3AGo shows that LPDP contained a high amount of this protein, in contrast to HDL, VLDL, and LDL preparations, which retained very low amounts of this protein. Densitometric analysis revealed that the proportion of CETP contained in LPDP vs. that contained in lipoprotein preparations was 99:1. This observation agrees with our results showing that the CE transfer activity was detected only in LPDP, suggesting that CETP has no DHEA-FA or PREG-FA transfer activities.



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Figure 3. Transfer of DHEA-FA from HDL to LDL using unbound fractions of lipoproteins eluted from an anti-CETP immunoaffinity column. LDL and [3H]DHEA-FA-labeled HDL were purified on an anti-CETP immunoaffinity column using the monoclonal antibody TP-2. The unbound fractions were tested by Western blot analysis (A) and used in in vitro transfer assays (B). A, [3H]DHEA-FA-labeled HDL (lanes 1 and 2; 17,500 dpm) and LDL (lanes 3 and 4; 7.5 µg LDL proteins) collected before (lanes 1 and 3) or after (lanes 2 and 4) immunoaffinity chromatography, and typical preparations of VLDL and LPDP used in the present report (lane 5, 5 µg VLDL proteins; lane 6, 0.5 µL LPDP) were loaded onto a 10% SDS-PAGE. After transfer, CETP was detected using a mixture of TP-14 and TP-2 anti-CETP monoclonal antibodies. The positions of mol wt protein standards are indicated at the left. B, In vitro transfer assays were performed using 35,000 dpm [3H]DHEA-FA-labeled HDL (1.4 µg HDL proteins) and an excess of acceptor LDL (15 µg LDL proteins) in a final volume of 100 µL without LPDP. The results are expressed as a percentage of radiolabeled DHEA-FA transferred from HDL to LDL in 1 h using lipoproteins collected before or after immunoaffinity chromatography, as indicated. The values are the mean (±SD) of triplicates from one selected experiment and correspond to the transfer at 37 C calculated using the values obtained at 0 C as controls without transfer. TP-2, Unbound fractions of lipoproteins eluted from the TP-2 immunoaffinity column; C, lipoproteins collected before immunoaffinity column chromatography (control).

 
As PREG-FA and DHEA-FA levels are very low in lipoproteins compared with levels of unlabeled CE, it is possible that only a low amount of CETP is sufficient for the transfer of a significant proportion of radiolabeled PREG-FA and DHEA-FA. To answer this question, CETP from both HDL donors labeled with radioactive steroid esters and LDL acceptors were removed by immunoaffinity column chromatography using the anti-CETP monoclonal antibody TP-2. The resulting lipoprotein preparations were then tested by Western blot (Figs. 3AGo and 4AGo), and the amounts of CETP were compared by densitometric analysis in samples collected before and after the treatment. The signals of 66 and 68 kDa correspond to the two isoforms of CETP (16). For the study of DHEA-FA, the unbound fractions of lipoproteins eluted from the immunoaffinity column contained approximately 18% and 10% the amount of CETP associated with untreated HDL and LDL, respectively. As shown in Fig. 3BGo, 100% of the DHEA-FA transfer activity remained associated with lipoproteins after their elution from the column. For the study of PREG-FA, the amounts of CETP associated with HDL and LDL after their passage through the immunoaffinity column compared to that of untreated lipoproteins were 19% and 13%, respectively (Fig. 4AGo). Again, after their elution from the column, the lipoproteins did not lose their PREG-FA transfer activity (Fig. 4BGo). Moreover, a slight increase in PREG-FA transfer activity was observed using CETP-depleted HDL.



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Figure 4. Transfer of PREG-FA from HDL to LDL using unbound fractions of lipoproteins eluted from an anti-CETP immunoaffinity column. LDL and [3H]PREG-FA-labeled HDL were purified on an anti-CETP immunoaffinity column using the monoclonal antibody TP-2. The unbound fractions were tested by Western blot analysis (A) and used in in vitro transfer assays (B). A, Aliquots of [3H]PREG-FA-labeled HDL (lanes 1 and 2; 17,500 dpm) and LDL (lanes 3 and 4; 7.5 µg LDL proteins) collected before (lanes 1 and 3) or after (lanes 2 and 4) immunoaffinity chromatography were loaded onto a 10% SDS-PAGE. After transfer, CETP was detected using a mixture of TP-14 and TP-2 anti-CETP monoclonal antibodies. The positions of mol wt protein standards are indicated at the left. B, In vitro transfer assays were performed using 35,000 dpm [3H]PREG-FA-labeled HDL (1.5 µg HDL proteins) and an excess of acceptor LDL (15 µg LDL proteins) without LPDP in a final volume of 100 µL. The results are expressed as a percentage of radiolabeled PREG-FA transferred from HDL to LDL in 5 h using lipoproteins collected before or after the immunoaffinity chromatography, as indicated. The values are the mean (±SD) of duplicates from one selected experiment and correspond to the transfer at 37 C, calculated using the values obtained at 0 C as controls without transfer. TP-2, Unbound fractions of lipoproteins eluted from the TP-2 immunoaffinity column; C, lipoproteins collected before immunoaffinity column chromatography (control).

 
In contrast to DHEA-FA transfer activity, which was found only in lipoprotein preparations, PREG-FA transfer activity was detected in both lipoproteins and LPDP. We next investigated PREG-FA transfer activity in LPDP for its dependence on the neutral lipid transfer domain of CETP. For this purpose, the monoclonal antibody TP-2 was added to in vitro transfer assays to inhibit the transfer activity of the neutral lipid transfer domain of CETP. In the presence of LPDP, the increase in TP-2 was accompanied by a significant decrease in CE transfer activity, whereas the PREG-FA transfer level was unaffected (Fig. 5Go). Despite the addition of TP-2, the level of transfer of PREG-FA remained significantly higher than the control level with no LPDP added.



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Figure 5. Effect of the anti-CETP monoclonal antibody, TP-2, on PREG-FA and the CE transfer activities of LPDP. In vitro transfer assays were performed using 23,000 dpm radiolabeled steroid ester-HDL (0.7 and 0.9 µg HDL proteins for CE and PREG-FA, respectively), an excess of VLDL (15 µg VLDL proteins), 12 µL LPDP, and the indicated amount of the monoclonal antibody TP-2 in a final volume of 100 µL. Before the transfer assay and for all the tubes including controls at 0 C, radiolabeled steroid esters-HDL and TP-2 were preincubated for 1 h at 37 C and then chilled on ice before the addition of VLDL. Results are expressed as the percentage of radiolabeled CE ({blacksquare}) or PREG-FA ({square}) transferred from HDL to VLDL in 5 h of incubation in the presence of increasing amounts of the monoclonal antibody TP-2. The histogram bar corresponds to the level of PREG-FA transfer in the absence of LPDP and TP-2. The values are the mean of duplicates (±SD) from one selected experiment. Results were reproduced using lipoproteins isolated from another subject.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In the present study, we showed that DHEA-FA and PREG-FA are transferred from HDL to VLDL and LDL by a temperature- and time-dependent mechanism independent of the presence of CETP. We showed that high levels of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA transfer activity remain associated with lipoproteins after ultracentrifugation, in contrast to both CETP protein and CE transfer activities. When CETP was removed from lipoprotein preparations by anti-CETP-immunoaffinity column chromatography, the resulting lipoproteins retained all of their DHEA-FA and PREG-FA transfer activities. Although CE transfer was observed only in the presence of LPDP, as shown in time-course studies, the transfer of DHEA-FA was independent of the addition of LPDP. In contrast to both CE and DHEA-FA transfer activities, the PREG-FA transfer activity was found in lipoproteins as well as in LPDP. Although CETP was present at high concentrations in LPDP, the PREG-FA transfer activity of LPDP did not depend on the neutral lipid transfer domain of CETP, as demonstrated by use of the monoclonal antibody TP-2, which selectively inhibited the transfer of CE, but not that of PREG-FA. Taken together, our results show that the CETP is not responsible for the transfer of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA from HDL to VLDL and LDL.

The observation that newly formed lipoidal steroids were found in VLDL and LDL suggests that DHEA-FA and PREG-FA are transferred from HDL to VLDL and LDL. However, it was not excluded that the lipoidal steroids could be added to VLDL and LDL immediately after their formation by LCAT. This hypothesis is unlikely because we have clearly shown in the present report that the transfer of FA steroids can be dissociated from the LCAT reaction. Moreover, dextran-coated charcoal treatment failed to remove lipoidal steroids from lipoproteins (13), suggesting that DHEA-FA and PREG-FA could not have been transferred by simple diffusion in the aqueous solvent. Therefore, the existence of one or more transfer proteins, distinct from CETP, responsible for the transfer of DHEA-FA and PREG-FA between human lipoproteins is postulated.

As mentioned above, PREG-FA transfer activity was detected in both lipoproteins and LPDP. The relative importance of these two sources of PREG-FA transfer activity can be deduced from Table 1Go, which shows the rates of transfer in vitro. Based on the concentration of HDL proteins in plasma, we determined that approximately 90–95% of the total plasma PREG-FA activity remains associated with lipoproteins after their isolation by ultracentrifugation. One possible explanation for this observation is that the PREG-FA transfer activity may partially dissociate from lipoproteins during ultracentrifugation. Alternatively, it is not excluded that a factor present in LPDP could stimulate the transfer of PREG-FA or that CETP could have a low affinity for PREG-FA. However, using the antibody TP-2, we showed that the neutral lipid transfer domain of CETP is not responsible for the PREG-FA transfer activity of LPDP. In contrast, DHEA-FA transfer activity was detected in lipoprotein, but not in LPDP preparations, whereas CE transfer activity was undetectable in the absence of LPDP. Because the level of DHEA-FA transfer is relatively high in the absence of LPDP, we cannot exclude the possibility that CETP may have a low level of DHEA-FA transfer activity.

A plasma phospholipid transfer protein has been previously described (25, 26). Although the level of this transfer protein was not measured in our lipoproteins and LPDP, it is known that, like CETP, it dissociates from lipoproteins during ultracentrifugation (27). In addition, because this protein does not participate in the transfer of neutral lipids such as CE and triglycerides (15, 16), it is an unlikely candidate for a DHEA-FA and/or a PREG-FA transfer protein.


    Acknowledgments
 
We acknowledge Dr. Ross Milne (Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) for providing the anti-CETP monoclonal antibodies TP-2 and TP-14.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada (to A.B., Medical Research Council Group in Molecular Endocrinology) and Endorecherche. Back

2 Supported by a fellowship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and selected by the Pharmaceutical Roundtable for a Parke-Davis award. Back

3 Supported by a studentship from Le Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec-Fonds de Formation pour les Chercheurs et l’Aide à la Recherche (FRSQ-FCAR-Santé). Back

Received July 8, 1996.

Revised September 19, 1996.

Accepted September 24, 1996.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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