Fasting apoprotein B-48 level and coronary artery disease in a population without frank fasting hypertriglyceridemia.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that fasting apoprotein B-48 level might be a surrogate marker of postprandial lipemia in evaluating the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a population without frank abnormality in fasting lipid profile. One hundred twenty-three patients tested by coronary angiography were selected on the criteria of absence of treatment with hypolipidemic drugs, obvious hypertriglyceridemia (>2.85 mmol/L), or other conditions that may interfere with lipoprotein metabolism except diabetes. CAD was defined by more than 50% narrowing of vessel lumen, and its severity is determined by the number of arteries involved. Fasting apoprotein B-48 was measured by a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. There was no difference in fasting apoprotein B-48 levels between the groups with and without CAD (0.123+/-0.096 vs 0.136+/-0.125 microg/mL, respectively), whatever the sex or whether with or without diabetes. The apoprotein B-48 level was not related to the presence or the severity of CAD. There was also no correlation between fasting apoprotein B-48 levels and age, sex, body mass index, and usual fasting lipid parameters in both patients with and without angiographically proven CAD. Finally, among the features of metabolic syndrome, apoprotein B-48 was correlated with fasting triglyceride levels (r=0.357, P<.01) only. In conclusion, the present study shows that in the absence of any major fasting abnormality in plasma lipid parameters, fasting apoprotein B-48 level, which has been associated with postprandial hyperlipidemia, does not predict the risk of CAD.