ipidexchange capacity of low density lipoproteins depending on lipid-composition and Lp(a) - SAS092020

In this work, the S protein capacity to modulate HDL function was studied, by NR, ATR-FTIR and RCT experiments. The hypothesis was that the HDL capacity to remove and exchange lipids is impaired in presence of the S protein and this depends on the lipid saturation of the model membrane, cholesterol, and the lipid profile of the donor. Our research suggests that the S protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a stronger ability to remove cholesterol and polyunsaturated lipids compared to saturated and monounsaturated ones. Coincubation of the S protein and HDL samples pooled from healthy adults with a fluid, saturated phospholipid model led to impaired HDL function, but the effect could be reverted when polyunsaturated lipids were used instead. This implies that the S protein preferentially removes polyunsaturated lipids from HDL, which leads to changes in its surface properties or remodelling.