Cell cholesterol efflux to reconstituted high-density lipoproteins containing the apolipoprotein A-I-Milano dimer

The apolipoprotein A-I(Milano) (apoA-I(M)) is a molecular variant of apoA-I characterized by the Arg173)→Cys substitution, resulting in the formation of homodimers A-I(M)/A-I(M). The introduction of the interchain disulfide bridge in the A-I(M) dimer limits the apolipoprotein conformational flexibility and restricts HDL particle size heterogeneity, thus possibly affecting HDL function in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis protection. To investigate whether the structural changes in A-I(M)/A-I(M) affect apoA-I capacity for cell cholesterol uptake, we tested the ability of four reconstituted HDL (rHDL), that contained either apoA-I or A-I(M)/A-I(M), to remove cholesterol from Fu5AH hepatoma cells and cholesterol-loaded murine primary macrophages (MPM). As the HDL particle size is known to affect the rHDL capacity for cell cholesterol uptake, the reconstitution conditions were carefully selected to produce two sets of rHDL particles of small and large size (7.8 and 12.5 nm in diameter). The small A-I(M)/A-I(M) rHDL were more efficient than the corresponding apoA-I particles as acceptors of membrane cholesterol from Fu5AH cells and MPM, and as inhibitors of cholesterol esterification in MPM. The large rHDL and the lipid-free apolipoproteins displayed instead similar capacities for cell cholesterol efflux. These results suggest that cell cholesterol efflux to rHDL particles of different size occurs through different mechanisms. Large HDL accommodate and retain the cholesterol molecules that have desorbed from the cell membrane into the extracellular fluid, in a process that is less sensitive to protein conformation. Small HDL accelerate the desorption of cholesterol from the cell membrane, in a process that is influenced by the conformation of the proteins on the surface of the acceptor particle. The enhanced efficiency of small A-I(M)/A-I(M) rHDL seems related to the peculiar structure of the protein on the rHDL surface, with a hydrophobic C-terminal domain extending out of the rHDL particle, available for anchoring the acceptor to the plasma membrane.