Distribution of HDL2 and HDL3 in a random population of healthy french males and females - evaluation by a two-step precipitation procedure

A rapid and reliable method for the determination of HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol is described. The Apo B containing fractions (VLDL, IDL, LDL) were precipitated by addition of dextran sulfate (Mr 500,000) to 2 mmol/l final concentration followed by MgCl2 to a final concentration of 0.05 mol/l. The supernatant, was brought to 6 mmol/l dextran sulfate and 0.250 mol/l MgCl2 to precipitate HDL2. Cholesterol determination on total serum and both supernatants yielded the concentrations of Apo B-associated cholesterol, total HDL, HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol. The application of this technique to a random population of healthy French people gave HDL-cholesterol values of 1.35 and 1.54 mmol.l-1, respectively, in 93 males and 95 females (p less than 0.001). All of the difference was attributable to HDL2 (0.43 vs 0.65 mmol.l-1, p less than 0.001) while HDL3 were almost identical at 0.92 and 0.91 nmol.l-1. These values are in good agreement with previously reported figures for French individuals, but markedly higher in males than values reported from North America.