Plasma lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activities in uraemic patients.

Plasma lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity was measured in 43 haemodialysis and 15 peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. LCAT activities in both groups of patients were significantly lower than those of normal subjects and did not correlate with any of the other biochemical parameters studied. The effect of intravenous administration of 100 U/kg of heparin on LCAT activity was examined in 21 haemodialysis patients and 19 normal subjects. Heparin inhibited LCAT activity by increasing plasma free fatty acid concentrations. LCAT remained inhibited throughout a dialysis session and returned towards pre-dialysis levels an hour after haemodialysis was discontinued. The cause of the low LCAT activities in the patients was not certain, but did not appear to be due to the presence of inhibitors in the uraemic plasma. The significance of these findings is discussed.