Comparison of Surface and Core Peptide Fraction from Apo B-100 of Human LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein)

Apolipoprotein B-100 (apo B-100) is an important component in plasma low density lipoproteins (LDL). It function as the ligand for the LDL receptor in peripheral cells. The LDLs are removed from the circulation by both high-affinity receptor-mediated and receptor-independant pathways. LDLs are heterogeneous in their lipid content, size and density and certain LDL subspecies increase risk of atherosclerosis due to differences in the conformation of apo B in the particle. In the present study , surface and core peptide fraction of Apo B-100 have been characterized by comparing peptide-mapping and fluorescence spectroscopy. Surface fragments of apo B-100 were generated by digestion of LDL with either trypsin , pronase, or pancreatin elastase. Surface fractions were fractionated on a Sephadex G-50 column. The remaining core fragments were delipidated and redigested with the above enzymes, and the resulting core peptides were compared with surface peptides. Results from peptide-mapping by HPLC showed pronase-digestion was more extensive than trypsin -digestion to remove surface peptide fraction from LDL. Fluorescence spectra showed that core fractions contained higher amount of tryptophan than surface fractions, and it indicated that core fraction wa smore hydrophobic than surface fractions. A comparison of the behavior of the core and surface provided informations about the regions of apo B-100 involved in LDL metabolism and also about the structural features concerning the formation of atherosclerosis.