Abstract 11329: Cholesterol Uptake Capacity, a Novel Indicator for HDL Functionality, vs. Cholesterol Efflux Capacity in Association With Coronary Plaque Lipid Burden

IntroductionCholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) measurement is not instantly applicable in clinical settings, because the methods require cultured cells, and the procedures are time consuming. Recently, we established a simple, high-throughout, cell-free assay system to evaluate the capacity of HDL to accept additional cholesterol, which is herein referred to as “cholesterol uptake capacity (CUC)”. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional comparison of two HDL functionality indicators, CEC and CUC, and coronary plaque morphology.MethodsWe enrolled 90 patients to assess HDL functionality and the morphological features of angiographic stenosis by optical coherence tomography (OCT). For CEC measurements, we employed BODIPY-cholesterol efflux assay using cAMP-treated J774 cells. Lipid-rich plaque was defined as a diffusely bordered, signal-poor region. We estimated the extent of lipid-rich plaque by multiplying the mean lipid arc by length (lipid indexLI). The extent of OCT-detected macrophage accumulation in the target plaque was semi-quantitatively estimated using the grading system (macrophage score).ResultsThe coefficient of variation of CUC was lower than that of CEC. CUC was inversely associated with LI (R=0.112, P