CHARACTERIZATION OF LIPOPROTEIN SECRETED BY CULTURED EEL HEPATOCYTES AND ITS COMPARISON WITH SERUM-LIPOPROTEINS

The lipoprotein secreted by cultured eel hepatocytes was fractionated by density gradient ultracentrifugation and compared with eel serum lipoproteins. Eel hepatocytes were cultured for 7 to 10 days as a monolayer in Williams' medium E containing 5% fetal bovine serum and 0.16-mu-M insulin on a dish precoated with fibronectin of horse serum. The only lipoprotein secreted by eel hepatocytes was a very-low-density lipoprotein like one which consisted of 69% triglyceride, 15% phospholipid, 4% cholesterol, and 12% protein. On the other hand, very-low-density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein were found in eel serum, in which high density lipoprotein was a main lipoprotein. The secreted lipoprotein contained apo B and apo A as the main protein components. Furthermore, the lipoprotein contained proapo A-I in addition to apo A-I, which was proved by comparing the amino acid composition of both proteins. In our discussion, we noted that the lipoprotein secreted by eel hepatocytes was a good material for the study of high-density lipoprotein formation.