Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects 3% of the world population and is the leading cause of liver failure in the United States. A unique feature of HCV is that the viral particles are integral to very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-derived lipoprotein particles. The virus is assembled into VLDL in hepatocytes and released out of the cells together with VLDL. The virus then infects more hepatocytes b...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether lovastatin treatment reduced very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) abnormalities in hypertriglyceridemic subjects. Lovastatin reduced plasma triglyceride levels and the levels of total VLDL, intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. The numbers of VLDL particles of Sf 100-400 and Sf 60-100 but not Sf 2...

The vitellogenin/very low density lipoprotein receptor (VTG/VLDL-R), a 95 kDa protein that belongs to the low density lipoprotein receptor gene family, mediates the uptake of yolk precursors by developing follicles during oocyte growth. However, the extent to which variation in VTG/VLDL-R expression plays a role in determining inter-individual variation in reproductive phenotype (e.g. follicle ...

Hepatic lipase-deficient subjects in the Ontario kindred are compound heterozygotes for hepatic lipase mutations (Ser^-^Phe and Thr^^Met). Cholesteryl ester-rich 0-very-low-density lipoprotein (/3VLDL) accumulates in plasma and such subjects have premature atherosclerosis. To determine a possible mechanism, we hypothesized that hepatic lipase-deficient 0-VLDL, homozygous for apolipoprotein (apo...

Incubation of mouse peritoneal macrophages with very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) from normal rats or rhesus monkeys markedly increased the levels of intracellular triglycerides by 10- to 56-fold and was accompanied by the production of oil red O positive vacuoles. The stimulation of triglyceride accumulation in macrophages was time- and concentration-dependent and was specific for VLDL. Thr...

Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins may be responsible for the lipid accumulation in macrophages that can occur in hypertriglyceridemia. Chylomicrons and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL, total and with flotation constant [S(f)] 100-400) from fasting hypertriglyceridemic subjects induced a massive accumulation of oil red O-positive inclusions in unstimulated peritoneal macrophages. Cell viability...

The 39-kDa receptor-associated protein (RAP) is a specialized antagonist that inhibits all known ligand interactions with receptors that belong to the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene family. Recent studies have demonstrated a role for RAP as a molecular chaperone for the LDL receptor-related protein during receptor folding and trafficking within the early secretory pathway. In the p...

Incubation of 125I-labeled very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) with lipoprotein lipase-rich (postheparin) plasma obtained from intact or supradiaphragmatic rats resulted in the transfer of more than 80% of apoprotein C from VLDL to high density lipoprotein (HDL), whereas apoprotein B was associated with lipoprotein of density less than 1.019 g/ml (intermediate lipoprotein). The transfer of 125I...

Apolipoprotein (apo) C-III plays a regulatory role in VLDL lipolysis and clearance. In this study, we determined a potential intracellular role of apoC-III in hepatic VLDL assembly and secretion. Stable expression of recombinant apoC-III in McA-RH7777 cells resulted in increased secretion efficiency of VLDL-associated triacylglycerol (TAG) and apoB-100 in a gene-dosage-dependent manner. The sti...

OBJECTIVE Hypertriglyceridemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated plasma very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) puts insulin-resistant patients at risk for atherosclerosis. VLDL readily induces macrophage lipid accumulation and inflammatory responses, for which targeted therapeutic strategies remain elusive. We examined the ability of VLDL to induce macrophage foam ce...