Detection of an abnormal lipoprotein in a large colony of pedigreed baboons using high-performance gel exclusion chromatography.

High-performance gel exclusion chromatography was used to detect an abnormal lipoprotein in a large colony of baboons. Serum obtained from fasting baboons was adjusted to density 1.21 g/ml and ultracentrifuged to obtain lipoproteins. A small fraction (equivalent to 50 microliter serum) was separated using a gel filtration column (TSK 4000 SW) or a combination of TSK 4000 PW and TSK 3000 PW columns. The unusual lipoprotein was detected either as a distinct peak between low- and high-density lipoproteins or as a distinct shoulder to the high-density lipoprotein peak. In some baboons the unusual lipoprotein was present on both chow and atherogenic diet, but in most cases it was induced by feeding an atherogenic diet.