J K Boyles

Apolipoprotein E associated with astrocytic glia of the central nervous system and with nonmyelinating glia of the peripheral nervous system.

The plasma protein apolipoprotein (apo) E is an important determinant of lipid transport and metabolism in mammals. In the present study, immunocytochemistry has been used to identify apo E in specific cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems of the rat. Light microscopic examination revealed that all astrocytes, including specialized astrocytic cells (Bergmann glia of the cerebellum, tanycytes of the third ventricle, pituicytes of the neurohypophysis, and Müller cells of the retina), possessed significant concentrations of apo E. In all of the major subdivisions of the central nervous system, the perinuclear region of astrocytic cells, as well as their cell processes that end on basement membranes at either the pial surface or along blood vessels, were found to be rich in apo E. Extracellular apo E was present along many of these same surfaces. The impression that apo E is secreted by astrocytic cells was confirmed by electron microscopic immunocytochemical studies, which demonstrated the presence of apo E in the Golgi apparatus. Apo E was not present in neurons, oligodendroglia, microglia, ependymal cells, and choroidal cells. In the peripheral nervous system, apo E was present within the glia surrounding sensory and motor neurons; satellite cells of the dorsal root ganglia and superior cervical sympathetic ganglion as well as the enteric glia of the intestinal ganglia were reactive. Apo E was also present within the non-myelinating Schwann cells but not within the myelinating Schwann cells of peripheral nerves. These results suggest that apo E has an important, previously unsuspected role in the physiology of nervous tissue.

Astrocytes synthesize apolipoprotein E and metabolize apolipoprotein E-containing lipoproteins

We have previously demonstrated that astrocytes synthesize and secrete apolipoprotein E in situ. In the present work, primary cultures of rat brain astrocytes were used to study apolipoprotein E synthesis, secretion, and metabolism in vitro. The astrocytes in culture contained immunoreactive apolipoprotein E in the area of the Golgi apparatus. Incubation of the astrocytes with [35S]methionine resulted in the secretion of labeled immunoprecipitable apolipoprotein E, which constituted 1-3% of the total secreted proteins. The apolipoprotein E secreted in culture and the apolipoprotein E in rat brain extracts differed from serum apolipoprotein E in two respects: both had a slightly higher apparent molecular weight (approx. 36,000) and more acidic isoforms than serum apolipoprotein E. Sialylation of the newly secreted apolipoprotein accounted for the difference in both the apparent molecular weight and isoelectric focusing pattern of newly secreted apolipoprotein E and plasma apolipoprotein E. The astrocytes possessed apolipoprotein B,E(LDL) receptors capable of binding and internalizing apolipoprotein E-containing lipoproteins. The uptake of lipoproteins by the cells led to a reduction in the number of cell surface receptors and to the intracellular accumulation of cholesteryl esters. Since apolipoprotein E is present within the brain, and since brain cells can express apolipoprotein B,E(LDL) receptors, apolipoprotein E-containing lipoproteins may function to redistribute lipid and regulate cholesterol homeostasis within the brain.

A role for apolipoprotein E, apolipoprotein A-I, and low density lipoprotein receptors in cholesterol transport during regeneration and remyelination of the rat sciatic nerve.

Recent work has demonstrated that apo E secretion and accumulation increase in the regenerating peripheral nerve. The fact that apoE, in conjunction with apoA-I and LDL receptors, participates in a well-established lipid transfer system raised the possibility that apoE is also involved in lipid transport in the injured nerve. In the present study of the crushed rat sciatic nerve, a combination of techniques was used to trace the cellular associations of apoE, apoA-I, and the LDL receptor during nerve repair and to determine the distribution of lipid at each stage. After a crush injury, as axons died and Schwann cells reabsorbed myelin, resident and monocyte-derived macrophages produced large quantities of apoE distal to the injury site. As axons regenerated in the first week, their tips contained a high concentration of LDL receptors. After axon regeneration, apoE and apoA-I began to accumulate distal to the injury site and macrophages became increasingly cholesterol-loaded. As remyelination began in the second and third weeks after injury, Schwann cells exhausted their cholesterol stores, then displayed increased LDL receptors. Depletion of macrophage cholesterol stores followed over the next several weeks. During this stage of regeneration, apoE and apoA-I were present in the extracellular matrix as components of cholesterol-rich lipoproteins. Our results demonstrate that the regenerating peripheral nerve possesses the components of a cholesterol transfer mechanism, and the sequence of events suggests that this mechanism supplies the cholesterol required for rapid membrane biogenesis during axon regeneration and remyelination.

Uptake of apolipoprotein E-containing high density lipoproteins by hepatic parenchymal cells.

Cholesterol-enriched, apolipoprotein E-containing high density lipoproteins (apo E HDLc), which were Isolated from the plasma of cholesterol-fed dogs by using agarose column chromatography or ultracentrlfugatlon, possessed essentially Identical biochemical and metabolic characteristics. Radlolodlnated (125I) apo E HDIc Isolated by either method gave identical rates of clearance from the plasma, I.e., >50% of the Injected dose was cleared from the plasma within 5 to 10 minutes, principally by the liver. Detailed studies localizing apo E HDLc uptake to specific cell types within the liver were performed in both normal and cholesterol-fed rats. The validity of using the canine apo E HDLc In the rat was supported by observations of marked similarities In plasma clearance, I.e., a rapid acute phase of disappearance, and a near-quantitative hepatic uptake of lipoproteins In both species. Canine apo E HDLc (fluorescently labeled with 1,1′-dloctadecyl-3,3,3′, 3-tetramethylindocarbocyanine), which were Injected into normal rats, appeared to be taken up primarily by parenchymal cells, as determined by fluorescence microscopy. Light microscopic autoradlography also revealed that the uptake of 129I apo E HDLc was principally carried out by parenchymal cells In rat Ilver. Likewise, the uptake of apo E HDLc by the Ilver of cholesterol-fed rats was extensively localized to parenchymal cells. An In situ, single-pass perfusion of a lobule of the Ilver of a normal dog with lodlnated and fluorescently labeled apo E HDLc confirmed that the uptake of the lipoproteins was principally carried out by parenchymal cells. The plasma clearance of apo E HDLc by hepatic parenchymal cells, even In cholesterol-fed animals In which the apo B,E (LDL) receptors were markedly downregulated (undetectable), suggests that the apo E receptor, presumably the remnant receptor, Is localized In the parenchymal cells.

Isolation and characterization of plasma lipoproteins of common marmoset monkey. Comparison of effects of control and atherogenic diets.

This study examines the potential of the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus) to serve as a model for human lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis. The lipoproteins of animals fed a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and a high-fat (12% wt/wt lard), high-cholesterol (0.34% wt/wt) diet were characterized by the combination of sequential ultracentrifugation and Pevikon block electrophoresis. Based on chemical and physical properties, equivalents of human very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), and high density lipoproteins (HDL), including and HDL-with apolipoprotein E subclass, were demonstrated. In control animals, whose plasma cholesterol concentration was 140.1 +/- 20.2 mg/dl (means +/- SD), approximately 40% of the plasma cholesterol was transported by LDL as compared with approximately 70% in humans. The cholesterol-fed marmosets segregated into two groups: hypo- and hyper-responders. The hyper-responders had plasma cholesterol levels of 450 to 970 mg/ml. The hypercholesterolemia was associated with elevated concentrations of VLDL, intermediate density lipoproteins, and LDL; in addition, these lipoproteins were enriched in cholesteryl esters relative to lipoproteins isolated from control animals. The HDL (d greater than 1.09 g/ml) levels did not change in response to cholesterol feeding, although the HDL-with apolipoprotein E found in the d = 1.02 to 1.09 g/ml fraction increased approximately fivefold. Based on immunological characteristics and sialic acid content, the common marmoset appeared to lack a lipoprotein(a) equivalent. The results of a short-term feeding study (11 months) suggest that this monkey was susceptible to the development of diet-induced atherosclerosis. The hyper-responsive animals developed foam cell lesions and moderately proliferative intimal lesions, predominantly within the thoracic aorta. In summary, the results of our studies indicate that the common marmoset monkey potentially is a useful model for the study of both lipoprotein metabolism and diet-induced atherosclerosis.

Metabolism of canine beta-very low density lipoproteins in normal and cholesterol-fed dogs.

Cholesteryl ester-rich O-very low density lipoproteins (β-LDL) are &migrating lipo-proteins that accumulate in the plasma of cholesterol-fed animals and of patients with type III hyperlipoproteinemia. There are two distinct fractioni: fraction I β-VLDL are chylomicron remnants of intestinal origin, and fraction II β-VLDL are cholesterol-rich VLDL of hepatic origin. The liver rapidly clears fraction I β-VLDL from the plasma of both normal and cholesterol-fed dogs. The liver also clears fraction II β-VLDL rapidly and efficiently from the plasma of normal dogs by receptor-mediated uptake. In cho-lesterol fed dogs the clearance is biphasic: an initial rapid die-away of about 30% to 40% of the injected dose within 5 minutes, followed by a slow clearance of plasma radioactivity (a half-life of more than 20 hours). The rapid, initial phase of fraction II O-VLDL clearance appears to be related to sequestration of the lipoproteins presum-ably on endothelial cells and is apparently associated with lipolytic processing. Treatment of the fraction II β-VLDL with lipoprotein lipase abolishes this rapid phase. In the cholesterol-fed dog, the slow, late phase of clearance corresponds to the conversion of fraction II β-LDL to the smaller, denser intermediate and low density lipoproteins (IDL and LDL), which are slowly cleared from the plasma. It is concluded that fraction II O-VLDL are catabolized in the normal dog by rapid uptake mediated at least in part by the apo B,E(LDL) receptor of hepatic parenchymal cells. In cholesterol-fed dogs, in which these receptors are markedly down-regulated, fraction II O-VLDL are apparently initially bound to endothelial cells and converted to IDL and LDL by lipolytic processing.

Apolipoprotein E synthesis in neurofibrosarcoma and schwannoma cell cultures from two individuals with neurofibromatosis

Apolipoprotein E is expressed in neurofibrosarcoma and Schwannoma cell cultures derived from two patients with different types of neurofibromatosis, but not in six cell cultures derived from the benign neurofibromatosis neurofibromas. In addition, a cell culture derived from a nonneurofibromatosis human malignant astrocytoma showed apolipoprotein E expression. Although all cells in either the neurofibrosarcoma or Schwannoma cultures appeared morphologically similar (suggesting homogeneity), apolipoprotein E was immunochemically detected in the perinuclear region of only half of the cells. Thus, production of apolipoprotein E in neurofibromatosis-associated neurofibroma tumors may be a marker for a specific subclass of transformed cells. The expression of apolipoprotein E in glial cell neoplasms is possibly related to an alteration in their lipid metabolism.