Lipoprotein lipase activity in rat cardiomyocytes is stimulated by insulin and dexamethasone.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was studied in rat cardiomyocytes after overnight culture (16 h) in the presence of insulin (100 nM) and/or dexamethasone (100 nM). Insulin in combination with dexamethasone (INS/DEX) increased heparin-releasable LPL activity by 71% over the control level (566+/-85 versus 331+/-48 nmol/h.mg cell protein). This was accompanied by a 61% increase in total cellular LPL activity (914+/-89 versus 567+/-64 nmol/h.mg cell protein). The increase in LPL activity occurred at sub-nanomolar concentrations of the hormones, but neither hormone was effective alone. LPL protein mass, quantified by ELISA, was the same in both control and INS/DEX-treated cells (27.7 versus 28.6 ng/mg cell protein, respectively), thus LPL specific activity in cardiomyocytes was increased by INS/DEX treatment (0.113 versus 0.069 mU/ng LPL protein). These findings emphasize the importance of hormonal interactions in the regulation of LPL in heart tissue.