Uptake and degradation of human very-low-density lipoproteins by rat liver endothelial cells in culture.

Rat liver endothelial cells in primary cultures take up and degrade 125I-labelled human very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) in a saturable fashion at physiological triacylglycerol concentrations. The iodinated VLDL are readily taken up by the freshly isolated endothelial cells and degradation products appear in the medium about 30 min after the addition of VLDL to the cultures. Uptake and degradation at 37 degrees C are effectively inhibited by unlabelled human VLDL, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoproteins and lymph chylomicrons, but only modestly by acetylated LDL. Purified apolipoproteins E and C-III:1 also compete with the uptake of iodinated VLDL, but when degradation was studied for longer periods of time, such a competition could not be demonstrated. This may be due to the fact that the added apolipoproteins become associated with the lipoproteins. In binding experiments at 7 degrees C, iodinated apolipoprotein C III:1 bound to the liver endothelial cells in a manner characteristic of receptor binding with a dissociation constant of 0.5 microM. This binding could not only be inhibited by unlabelled apolipoprotein C-III:1 but also by unlabelled apolipoprotein E. The results indicate that rat liver endothelial cells carry receptors for VLDL and that these recognize the apolipoproteins E, C-III and B on the lipoprotein surface. Considering the large endothelial surface and high blood flow through the liver, significant quantities of lipoproteins can be taken up and degraded, thus influencing the levels of circulating lipoproteins in the in vivo situation.