High-density lipoprotein and cerebral endothelial cells in vitro: interactions and transport.

Primary cultures of bovine cerebral endothelial cells were used as an in vitro model for the blood-brain barrier to study the transport and interactions of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) across monolayers of these cells. Transport of 125I-apoE free HDL across a monolayer of bovine cerebral endothelial cells occurred in a linear fashion up to a concentration of 70 micrograms/mL, suggesting paracellular transport of HDL. Bovine cerebral endothelial cells possess a high affinity binding site for HDL with a mean dissociation constant (KD) of 10.8 +/- 2.6 micrograms/mL (N = 4). Maximal binding of apoE free HDL to cerebral endothelial cells proved to be temperature-dependent: at 4 degrees a Bmax value of 42 +/- 9.3 ng/mg cell protein was found, while at 37 degrees this value was 177 +/- 70.4 ng/mg cell protein. Cell association of 125I-HDL could be effectively displaced by HDL, not by low-density lipoprotein or acetylated low-density lipoprotein, and association was not coupled to degradation. The in vitro blood-brain barrier cell system possesses high affinity binding sites for HDL, which are probably not involved in the transport of HDL across cerebral endothelial cells.