Lipoprotein lipase and cholesterol transfer activities of lean and obese Zucker rats

Adult female lean and obese Zucker rats maintained under standard condition s were used for the estimation of plasma, liver and white adipose tissue (W AT) activity of lipoprotein lipase, plasma and liver hepatic lipase and pla sma lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase. No differences in plasma or tissu e levels of lipoprotein lipase between lean and obese rats were detected, b ut the larger WAT size of the obese rats resulted in higher lipase activity per unit of rat weight. Hepatic lipase levels in plasma were higher in the obese, but in liver, the higher activity was found in lean rats. No signif icant differences were found for lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activ ity, except when the levels in the HDL fraction were expressed per unit of protein weight, showing lower activity in the obese rats. In conclusion, th e essentially maintained enzyme activities in obese rat tissues suggest tha t they cannot explain the deficient lipoproteins processing of obese rats, and, consequently their dislipidaemia.