The Passage of Apoproteins from Plasma Lipoproteins into the Lipoproteins of Peripheral Lymph in Man

1. The transport of apoprotein B from the lipoproteins of plasma into the lipoproteins of lymph draining the foot has been studied in four men with type III hyperlipoproteinaemia.

2. Three subjects were given autologous ¹²⁵I-labelled very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and ¹³¹I-labelled low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by intravenous injection; the fourth was given autologous ¹²⁵I-labelled VLDL and ¹³¹I-labelled intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) plus LDL.

3. The ¹²⁵I/¹³¹I ratios in serum and lymph apoprotein B, and the ¹²⁵I and ¹³¹I specific radioactivities of apoprotein B in VLDL, IDL and LDL from serum and lymph, indicate that apoprotein B in the circulating VLDL can reach peripheral lymph without the intermediacy of circulating LDL.