Background: TA-8995 is a potent inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) with beneficial effects on lipids and lipoproteins. The effect of TA-8995 on cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), a measure of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) function, and HDL subparticle distribution is largely unknown.
Objective: To assess the effect of the CETP inhibitor TA-8995 on ABCA1- and non-ABCA1-driven CEC and on HDL particle distribution.
Methods: Total, non-ABCA1-, and ABCA1-specific CEC from J774 cells and HDL subclass distribution assessed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis were measured at baseline and after 12-week treatment in 187 mild-dyslipidemic patients randomized to placebo, 1 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg TA-8995, or 10 mg TA-8995 combined with 10 mg rosuvastatin (NCT01970215).
Results: Compared with placebo, total, non-ABCA1-, and ABCA1-specific CEC were increased dose dependently by up to 38%, 72%, and 28%, respectively, in patients randomized to 10 mg of TA-8995. PreBeta-1 HDL, the primary acceptor for ABCA1-driven cholesterol efflux, was increased by 36%. This increase in preBeta-1 HDL correlated significantly with the total and the ABCA1-driven CEC increase, whereas the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increase did not.
Conclusion: TA-8995 dose dependently increased not only total and non-ABCA1-specific CEC but also ABCA1-specific CEC and preBeta-1 HDL particle levels. These findings suggest that TA-8995 not only increases HDL-C levels but also promotes functional properties of HDL particles. This CETP inhibitor-driven preBeta-1 HDL increase is an important predictor of both ABCA1 and total CEC increase, independent of HDL-C increase. Whether these changes in HDL particle composition and functionality have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular outcome requires formal testing in a cardiovascular outcome trial.
Keywords: CETP inhibitor; Cholesterol efflux capacity; HDL; Pre-Beta1 HDL; TA-8995.
Copyright © 2016 National Lipid Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.