Moderate red wine consumption in healthy volunteers reduced plasma clearance of apolipoprotein AII

Background The mechanisms of the positive relationship between alcohol inta ke and plasma concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) are still unc lear. The present study shows the metabolism modifications of apolipoprotei n (apo) AI and apoAII in normolipidaemic healthy volunteers after a period of moderate red wine consumption. Design Five non-smoking male subjects were studied at the end of two consec utive 4-week periods, one without alcohol and the other with an intake of 5 0 g per day of alcohol, in random order. The metabolic parameters of apoAI and apoAII in HDL were determined after endogenous labelling using amino ac id labelled with stable isotope. Cholesterol, triacylglycerols, HDL-cholest erol, apoAI, apoAII, LpAI, LpAI:AII were determined in plasma at the end of the two study periods. Results Cholesterol and triacylglycerols did not vary significantly during the two periods, whereas HDL-cholesterol increased from 43.8 to 50.0 mg dL( -1) (P < 0.05). ApoAI and apoAII increased significantly (20% and 60% respe ctively) after the diet was supplemented with alcohol. LpAI:AII increased f rom 73.8 to 101.6 mg dL(-1) (+32%) (P < 0.05), whereas alcohol had no effec t on the concentration of LpAI. The alcohol treatment did not significantly alter the metabolism of apoAI. Conversely, the fractional catabolic rate o f apoAII decreased significantly by 21% (P < 0.05) with alcohol, whereas th e production rate of apoAII tended to increase by 18% (P = 0.08). Conclusion The decrease in the fractional catabolic rate of apoAII could le ad to an accumulation of apoAII-containing lipoproteins in plasma and accou nt for the dramatic increase in LpAI:AII observed in the plasma of subjects consuming alcohol.