It is unclear whether cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) contributes to high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in hyperalphalipoproteinemia (HALP) in Caucasians. Moreover, even less is known about the effects of hereditary CETP deficiency in non-Japanese. We studied 95 unrelated Caucasian individuals with HALP. No correlations between CETP concentration or activity and HDL-C were identified. Screening for CETP gene defects led to the identification of heterozygosity for a novel splice site mutation in one individual. Twenty-five heterozygotes for this mutation showed reduced CETP concentration (-40%) and activity (-50%) and a 35% increase of HDL-C compared with family controls. The heterozygotes presented with an isolated high HDL-C, whereas the remaining subjects exhibited a typical high HDL-C/low-triglyceride phenotype. The increase of HDL-C in the CETP-deficient heterozygotes was primarily attributable to increased high density lipoprotein containing apolipoprotein A-I and A-II (LpAI:AII) levels, contrasting with an increase in both high density lipoprotein containing apolipoprotein A-I only and LpAI:AII in the other group. This study suggests the absence of a relationship between CETP and HDL-C levels in Caucasians with HALP. The data furthermore indicate that genetic CETP deficiency is rare among Caucasians and that this disorder presents with a phenotype that is different from that of subjects with HALP who have no mutation in the CETP gene. Copyright

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doi.org/10.1194/jlr.M600405-JLR200, hdl.handle.net/1765/35536
Journal of Lipid Research
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

van der Steeg, W., Hovingh, K., Klerkx, A., Hutten, B., Nootenboom, I., Levels, J., … Kuivenhoven, J. A. (2007). Cholesteryl ester transfer protein and hyperalphalipoproteinemia in Caucasians. Journal of Lipid Research, 48(3), 674–682. doi:10.1194/jlr.M600405-JLR200