Preferential sphingosine-1-phosphate enrichment and sphingomyelin depletion are key features of small dense HDL3 particles: relevance to antiapoptotic and antioxidative activities.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to define heterogeneity in the molecular profile of lipids, including sphingomyelin and sphingosine-1-phosphate, among physicochemically-defined HDL subpopulations and potential relevance to antiatherogenic biological activities of dense HDL3. METHODS AND RESULTS: The molecular profile of lipids (cholesteryl esters, phospholipids, sphingomyelin, and sphingosine-1-phosphate) in physicochemically-defined normolipidemic HDL subpopulations was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. As HDL particle size and molecular weight decreased with increment in density, molar lipid content diminished concomitantly. On a % basis, sphingomyelin abundance diminished in parallel with progressive increase in HDL density from HDL2b (12.8%) to HDL3c (6.2%; P<0.001); in contrast, sphingosine-1-phosphate was preferentially enriched in small HDL3 (40 to 50 mmol/mol HDL) versus large HDL2 (15 to 20 mmol/mol HDL; P<0.01). Small HDL3c was equally enriched in LpA-I particles relative to LpA-I:A-II. The sphingosine-1-phosphate/sphingomyelin ratio correlated positively with the capacities of HDL subspecies to attenuate apoptosis in endothelial cells (r=0.73, P<0.001) and to retard LDL oxidation (r=0.58, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: An elevated sphingosine-1-phosphate/sphingomyelin ratio is an integral feature of small dense HDL3, reflecting enrichment in sphingosine-1-phosphate, a key antiapoptotic molecule, and depletion of sphingomyelin, a structural lipid with negative impact on surface fluidity and LCAT activity. These findings further distinguish the structure and antiatherogenic activities of small, dense HDL.

A novel mutation in the human complex I NDUFS7 subunit associated with Leigh syndrome.

Defects in NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, the complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain represents the most frequent cause of mitochondrial diseases and is associated with a wide clinical spectrum varying from severe lactic acidosis in infants to muscle weakness in adults. Here, we report a patient with Leigh syndrome (LS), born to consanguineous parents, with severe complex I defect and a novel mutation in the NDUFS7 gene subunit. The homozygous mutation at nucleotide (nt) 434 G>A resulted in the modification of the arginine 145 to histidine in a highly conserved region of the protein. Parents were heterozygous carriers for this mutation. The mutation was absent from over than 100 healthy controls from the same ethnic origin. Identifying nuclear mutations as a cause of respiratory chain disorders will enhance the possibility of prenatal diagnosis and help us to understand how moleculardefects can lead to complex I deficiency.