Isolation and Analysis of Plasma Lipoproteins by Ultracentrifugation

Summary

Several methods have been used for analyzing plasma lipoproteins; however, ultracentrifugation is still one of the most popular and reliable methods. Here, we describe a method regarding how to isolate lipoproteins from plasma using sequential density ultracentrifugation and how to analyze the apolipoproteins for both diagnostic and research purposes.

Abstract

Analysis of plasma lipoproteins and apolipoproteins is an essential part for the diagnosis of dyslipidemia and studies of lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Although there are several methods for analyzing plasma lipoproteins, ultracentrifugation is still one of the most popular and reliable methods. Because of its intact separation procedure, the lipoprotein fractions isolated by this method can be used for analysis of lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, proteomes, and functional study of lipoproteins with cultured cells in vitro. Here, we provide a detailed protocol to isolate seven lipoprotein fractions including VLDL (d<1.006 g/mL), IDL (d=1.02 g/mL), LDLs (d=1.04 and 1.06 g/mL), HDLs (d=1.08, 1.10, and 1.21 g/mL) from rabbit plasma using sequential floating ultracentrifugation. In addition, we introduce the readers how to analyze apolipoproteins such as apoA-I, apoB, and apoE by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting and show representative results of lipoprotein and apolipoprotein profiles using hyperlipidemic rabbit models. This method can become a standard protocol for both clinicians and basic scientists to analyze lipoprotein functions.

Introduction

Dyslipidemia is the major risk factor of atherosclerotic disease in the world. High levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are closely associated with a high risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)^1,2. In the clinical setting, both LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) are routinely measured using an automated analyzer in a clinical laboratory^3,4. Despite this, it is essential to analyze lipoprotein profiles in details for the diagnosis of dyslipidemia and the study of lipid metabolism an....

Protocol

All procedures for rabbit studies were performed with approval of University of Yamanashi Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Approved number: A28-39).

1. Plasma separation from rabbit blood

1. Prepare 1.5 mL microtubes containing 15 µL of 0.5 M EDTA (pH 8.0) for blood collection.
2. Put a rabbit in a restrainer and puncture an auricular intermediate artery using a 22 gauge needle and collect blood into a tube. Mix the blood with EDTA gently and put them on ice.

Discussion

Hyperlipidemia is one of the most important risk factors of atherosclerotic disease. Thus, analysis of plasma lipoproteins is not only essential for diagnosis of dyslipidemia patients but also important for investigation of molecular mechanisms of lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis. In this study, we described the protocol of isolation and analysis of plasma lipoproteins which can be applied in the laboratories where ultracentrifugation is available. Information obtained by this method is comprehensive and straig.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
22-gauge needle	Terumo	NN-2232S	For blood collection
96-well microplate	greiner bio-one	655101	For lipids measurment
Anti-apolipoprotein A-I antibody	LifeSpan BioSciences	LS-C314186	For Western blottng, use 1:1,000
Anti-apolipoprotein B antibody	ROCKLAND	600-101-111	For Western blottng, use 1:1,000
Anti-apolipoprotein E antibody	Merck Millipore	AB947	For Western blottng, use 1:1,000
CBB staining kit	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	299-50101	For apolipoprotein analysis
Centrifuge	HITACHI		himac CF15RN
Closure	Spectrum	132736	For lipoprotein dialysis
Dialysis tubing	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	043-30921	For lipoprotein dialysis, MWCO 14,000
Dry heat block	Major Science	MD-01N	For SDS-PAGE sample preparation
ECL Western blotting detection reagents	GE Healthcare	RPN2209	For Western blotting
Electrophoresis Chamber	BIO-RAD		Mini-PROTEAN Tetra Cell
Ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) disodium salt dihydrate	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	345-01865	For anticoagulant (0.5 M), for dialysis (1 mM)
Filter paper	ADVANTEC	590	For Western blotting
Fixed angle ultracentrifuge rotor	BECKMAN COULTER	357656	TLA-120.2
Fixing solution			For SDS-PAGE (50% Methanol/ 10% Acetic acid)
Immun-Blot PVDF menbrane	BIO-RAD	1620177	For Western blotting
Lumino image analyzer	GE Healthcare		For Western blotting, ImageQuant LAS 4000
Magnetic stirrer	ADVANTEC	SR-304	For lipoprotein dialysis
Microplate reader iMARK	BIO-RAD		For lipids measurment
Microtube	INA-OPTIKA	SC-0150
Orbital agitator USBDbo	Stovall Life Science
Peroxidase congugated anti goat IgG antibody	Jackson ImmunoResearch	705-035-003	For Western blotting, use 1:2,000
Peroxidase congugated anti mouse IgG antibody	Jackson ImmunoResearch	715-035-150	For Western blotting, use 1:2,000
Phospholipids assay kit	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	433-36201	For lipids measurment
Polycarbonate ultracentrifuge Tubes	BECKMAN COULTER	343778
Potassium Bromide	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	168-03475	For density solution
Power Supply	BIO-RAD		For SDD-PAGE and Western blotting, PowerPac 300, PowerPac HC
Protein standards Precidion Plus Protein Dual Xtra	BIO-RAD	161-0377	For SDS-PAGE and Western blotting
Rabbit restrainer	Natsume Seisakusho	KN-318	For blood collection
Rotor	HITACHI		T15A43
SDS-PAGE running buffer			25 mM Tris/ 192 mM Glycine/ 0.1% SDS
SDS-PAGE sample buffer (2x)			0.1M Tris-HCl (pH 6.8)/ 4% SDS/ 20% glycerol/ 0.01% BPB/12% 2-merpaptoethanol
SDS-polyacrylamide gel			4-20% gradient polyacrylamide gel
Skim milk powder	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	190-12865	For Western blotting blocking buffer (5% skim milk/ 0.1% Tween 20/ PBS)
Total cholesterol assay kit	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	439-17501	For lipids measurment
Triglyicerides assay kit	FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical	432-40201	For lipids measurment
Tube slicer for thick-walled tube	BECKMAN COULTER	347960	For lipoprotein isolation
Tween 20	SIGMA-ALDRICH	P1379	For Western blotting washing buffer (0.1% Tween 20/ PBS)
Ultracentrifuge	BECKMAN COULTER	A95761	Optima MAX-TL
Western blotting wet transfer system	BIO-RAD		Mini Trans-Blot Cell