Context: The metabolism of HDL is altered in thyroid dysfunctions. Preβ-1 HDL is a very small discoidal precursor HDL and promotes cholesterol efflux via ABCA1. The effects of thyroid dysfunctions on pre-β1 HDL are unknown. Thyroid hormone regulates ANGPTL3 expression, which may participate in HDL metabolism in thyroid dysfunctions.
Objective: To determine the variation of HDL subfractions, especially preβ-1 HDL in thyroid dysfunctions, and whether ANGPTL3 mediates the effect of thyroid function on HDL metabolism.
Methods: We recruited 26 patients with Graves' disease undergoing radioiodine treatment. They were evaluated at three time points: at baseline, when they were hypothyroid after radioiodine treatment, and when they were on stable levothyroxine replacement and euthyroid.
Results: The concentrations of smaller HDL particles Preβ-1 HDL and HDL3 were highest at the hyperthyroid state, and lowest at the hypothyroid state. While the larger HDL particles HDL2 and HDL1 changed just the opposite. Preβ1-HDL and HDL3 were positively correlated to fT3 and fT4, while were negatively correlated to TSH. In contrast, HDL1 was negatively associated with fT3 and fT4, while was positively associated with TSH. The correlations between thyroid hormones and HDL subfractions remained significant after adjusting for ANGPTL3.
Conclusions: There is a shift form smaller HDL particles pre-β1 HDL and HDL3 to larger HDL particles HDL2 and HDL1 in hypothyroidism, while the change is just the opposite in hyperthyroidism. In future, cholesterol efflux capacity should be measured to determine if the function of HDL particles also changes with the shifting of HDL subfractions.
Keywords: ANGPTL3; Graves’ disease; HDL subfractions; Hyperthyroidsim; Hypothyroidism; Pre-β1 HDL.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.