Rapid and simple profiling of lipoproteins by polyacrylamide-gel disc electrophoresis to determine the heterogeneity of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) including small, dense LDL.

This study aimed to explore the potential of polyacrylamide-gel disc electrophoresis (PAGE) for lipoprotein profiling in clinical practice. Blood samples were collected from 146 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and lipid parameters were assayed by PAGE, including small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (n = 41), and triglyceride-rich lipoprotein remnant cholesterol (n = 37). We also used a commercial kit to measure small, dense LDL (n = 41). By PAGE, we obtained the percentage of the area under the curve (AUC %) of each peaks and calculated respective AUC% x total cholesterol (AUC%xTC) values. The calculated values of LDL-AUC%xTC, small LDL-AUC%xTC, and HDL-AUC%xTC values were correlated well with values from homogeneous assay for LDL-cholesterol, small, dense LDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol assays (r = 0.94, 0.81, and 0.89, respectively). PAGE combined with measurement of total cholesterol and triglycerides provides a rapid evaluation of anti- or pro-atherogenic lipoproteins and a simple profiling system for both the "quantity" and "quality" of lipoproteins, allowing a better assessment of the risk of coronary artery diseases. This article discusses several methods for simple and rapid lipid profiling and outlines some recent patents relevant to the methods.