Measurement of Post-Heparin Plasma Lipoprotein Lipase and Hepatic Triglyceride Lipase Activities and Their Relation to Plasma Triglyceride Metabolism

Abstract

Several methods have been used to estimate the removal capacity for serum triglycerides. The fractional removal rate of triglycerides can be measured after intravenous administration of triglyceride emulsions (Rössner, 1974) or after in vivo or in vitro labeling of the protein or lipid moiety of endogenous very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) (Farguhar et al., 1965). The results obtained by these methods are influenced by the pool size of circulating VLDL and may, therefore, give a more or less erroneous estimate of the removal efficiency. An indirect approach for the characterization of the removal mechanisms involves estimation of the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme responsible for the assimilation of lipoprotein triglyceride in peripheral tissues.