ISSN:
0091-7419
Keywords:
low density lipoprotein
;
cell surface receptors
;
receptor-mediated endocytosis
;
reconstitution of lipoproteins
;
fluorescent probes
;
fluorescence-activated cell sorter
;
familial hypercholesterolemia
;
Life Sciences
;
Molecular Cell Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Previous studies have shown that the cholesteryl ester core of plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL) can be extracted with heptane and replaced with a variety of hydrophobic molecules. In the present report we use this reconstitution technique to incorporate two fluorescent probes, 3-pyrenemethyl-23, 24-dinor-5-cholen-22-oate-3β-yl oleate (PMCA oleate) and dioleyl fluorescein, into heptane-extracted LDL. Both fluorescent lipoprotein preparations were shown to be useful probes for visualizing the receptor-mediated endocytosis of LDL in cultured human fibroblasts. When normal fibroblasts were incubated at 37°C with either of the fluorescent LDL preparations, fluorescent granules accumulated in the perinuclear region of the cell. In contrast, fibroblasts from patients with the homozygous form of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) that lack functional LDL receptors did not accumulate visible fluorescent granules when incubated with the fluorescent reconstituted LDL. A fluorescence-activated cell sorter was used to quantify the fluorescence intensity of individual cells that had been incubated with LDL reconstituted with dioleyl fluorescein. With this technique a population of normal fibroblasts could be distinguished from a population of FH fibroblasts. The current studies demonstrate the feasibility of using fluorescent reconstituted LDL in conjunction with the cell sorter to isolate mutant cells lacking functional LDL receptors.
Additional Material:
5 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jss.400100409
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