Association between serum soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor levels and metabolic factors in healthy Japanese individuals

Abstract

Background: Soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor (sLDL-R) is formed by cleavage of the extracellular domain of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R). It is unclear whether serum sLDL-R is a marker of diseases associated with triglyceride (TG) metabolism. We investigated the association between serum sLDL-R concentrations and other biochemical parameters in healthy Japanese individuals.

Methods: Study subjects consisted of 102 healthy adult Japanese volunteers (42 men, 60 women) with body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m(2) and serum TGs, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and glucose concentrations within normal ranges. Serum sLDL-R concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and their correlations with biochemical parameters were analyzed.

Results: Mean serum sLDL-R concentration was 120.9 ± 39.9 ng/ml. Serum sLDL-R levels were significantly and positively correlated with BMI (rs = 0.252) and TG (rs = 0.408) and LDL-C (rs = 0.325) concentrations. Multiple regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, and smoking showed that BMI (β = 0.274), TG (β = 0.328), and LDL-C (β = 0.224) were factors independently correlated with sLDL-R levels.

Conclusion: Serum sLDL-R concentration may be a marker of diseases associated with TG metabolism. This is the first report to date describing the clinical relevance of sLDL-R.

Keywords: ADAM17; ELISA; TG metabolism; ectodomain shedding; sLDL-R.

Figure 1

Correlations between serum sLDL‐R concentration and (A) age, (B) BMI, (C) TG concentration, and (D) LDL‐C concentration in 102 healthy Japanese adults. Spearman correlation coefficients (rs) and P are indicated. sLDL‐R, soluble low‐density lipoprotein receptor; BMI, body mass index; TG, triglyceride; LDL‐C, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol.