Free fatty acids do not release lipoprotein lipase from isolated cardiac myocytes or perfused hearts.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), located at the vascular endothelium, catalyzes the hydrolysis of plasma triacylglycerols to fatty acids and 2-monoacylglycerol. In the heart, LPL is synthesized in cardiac myocytes and then translocated to the vascular endothelium. We investigated whether lipolytic products could displace LPL from the cell surface of cardiac myocytes isolated from adult rat hearts. Incubation of myocytes with 0.15-0.9 mM oleic acid or 0.1 mM monoolein did not produce a significant increase in LPL activity in the medium. LPL on the cell surface of intact myocytes hydrolyzed exogenous [3H]triolein, but there was no associated increase in LPL activity measured in the medium. Perfusion of isolated hearts with heparin (5 U/ml) resulted in displacement of LPL from the capillary endothelium. Addition of 0.9 mM oleic acid to the perfusion medium did not increase perfusate LPL activity with perfused hearts from either control or fasted rats. Therefore lipolytic products do not release active LPL from binding sites at the surface of isolated cardiac myocytes or capillary endothelial cells in perfused hearts.