Acetyl-low density lipoprotein receptors on rat mesangial cells

Abstract To elucidate whether mesangial cells have any scavenger functions for modified lipoproteins, surface binding and cholesteryl ester (CE) formation by acetyl-low density lipoproteins (acetyl-LDL) have been studied in cultured rat renal mesangial cells. Specific binding kinetics for acetyl-LDL were observed with K d = 28.3 μg/ml and B max = 1.1 ng/μg cell protein at 0°C. The fluorescence microscopic finding demonstrated the enhanced uptake of DiI-acetyl-LDL in mesangial cells. Incorporation of [ 14 C]oleate into CE was enhanced to 6-fold by loading 30 μg/ml of acetyl-LDL on 10 μg/ml of [ 14 C]oleate-bovine serum albumin conjugate as compared with the control without lipoproteins ( P