This is really interesting study, my comments afterwards:
Apolipoprotein CIII links dyslipidemia with atherosclerosis.
Kawakami A1,
Yoshida M.
Author information
Abstract
Plasma levels of lipoproteins that contain apolipoprotein (apo) CIII predict coronary heart disease (CHD), and associate with contributors to metabolic syndrome such as type 2 diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. ApoCIII causes hypertriglyceridemia by inhibiting the catabolism and the clearance of TG-rich lipoproteins (TLRs), and the association of apoCIII with CHD has been commonly attributed to these properties; however, it has been untested whether apoCIII itself or in association with lipoproteins directly affects atherogenic mechanisms in vascular cells.
This review describes the proatherogenic effect of apoCIII-containing lipoproteins. In brief, apoCIII-rich VLDL (VLDL CIII+) increased the adhesion of human monocytes to vascular endothelial cells (ECs). ApoCIII alone also increased monocyte adhesion to vascular ECs.
Interestingly, apoCIII-rich HDL did not reduce the adhesion of monocytes to vascular ECs, whereas HDL without apoCIII decreased their adhesion, suggesting that apoCIII in HDL counteracts the anti-inflammatory property of HDL. ApoCIII alone as well as VLDL CIII+also activated vascular ECs through the activation of NF-kappaB, and induced the recruitment of monocytes to vascular ECs.
Moreover, apoCIII induced insulin resistance in vascular ECs and caused endothelial dysfunction.
These findings indicate that apoCIII in TLRs not only modulates their metabolism, but also may directly contribute to the development of atherosclerosis by activating the proinflammatory signal transduction of vascular cells. Here, we propose a novel role for apoCIII that links dyslipidemia with atherosclerosis."
This study looked to isolate a spedcific lipoprotein that contributes greatly to plaque buildup and they isolated Apo CIII. Apo-CIII is a component of
very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). An increase in apoC-III levels induces the development of
hypertriglyceridemia. In persons with
type 2 diabetes, elevated plasma Apo-CIII is associated with higher plasma
triglycerides and greater
coronary artery calcification (a measure of subclinical
atherosclerosis).
Apo-CIII delays the catabolism of triglyceride rich particles.
HDL cholesterol particles that bear Apo-CIII are associated with increased, rather than decreased, risk for coronary heart disease.
So even in HDL levels that are healthy, existence of the ApoCIII protein counters the good effect of HDL.
What I found is that Apc-CIII is directly involved in artherogenesis!
https://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12944-016-0352-y