Chemical and kinetic study of the lipoproteins in abetalipoproteinaemic plasma.

Abetalipoproteinaemic plasma lipoproteins were fractionated by molecular sieve chromatography into two classes on the basis of size. Each class had the same chemical and immunochemical composition and seemed to be interconvertible in vitro, presumably as a result of aggregation/disaggregation. The low levels of circulating apolipoprotein A-I found in abetalipoproteinaemic subjects have been shown by kinetic analysis to result from reduced synthesis of the apoprotein and not from increased catabolism or redistribution between vascular and extravascular compartments.