Journal of Lipid Research, Vol 23, 1342-1353, Copyright © 1982 by Lipid Research, Inc.
A one-step separation of human serum high density lipoproteins 2 and 3 by rate-zonal density gradient ultracentrifugation in a swinging bucket rotor
PH Groot, LM Scheek, L Havekes, WL van Noort and FM van't Hooft
A method was developed for the separation of the high density lipoprotein
subclasses HDL2 and HDL3 from human serum. Six serum samples are
fractionated in a single-step ultracentrifugal procedure using the Beckman
(SW-40) swinging bucket rotor. The method is based on a difference in
flotation rate of the high density lipoprotein subclasses. Separation of
HDL2 and HDL3 is accomplished by a discontinuous NaBr density gradient
applied on top of 2 ml of serum brought to a density of 1.40 g/ml. After
centrifugation, high density lipoprotein subclass profiles were obtained
using a specially designed gradient fractionator. Contamination of the
isolated high density lipoprotein subclasses by serum albumin or by
apolipoprotein B- containing lipoproteins was minimal while only a slight
overlap between the HDL2 and HDL3 profiles was observed. Chemical and
immunochemical analyses of the high density lipoprotein subclasses isolated
by the present method were in close agreement with the results obtained by
rate-zonal density gradient ultracentrifugation in zonal rotors (Patsch, et
al. 1980. J. Biol. Chem. 255: 3178-3185). The major advantage of the method
presented in this paper as compared with the zonal rotor method is the
possibility to analyze as many as six serum samples simultaneously.