@article{
author = "Nikolić, Milan and Stanić, Dragana and Barievic, Ivona and Jones, David R. and Nedić, Olgica and Niketić, Vesna",
year = "2007",
abstract = "Objective: The interior of red blood cells (RBCs) contains a variable amount of cholesterol and phospholipids bound to haemoglobin (Hb). This current study was devised to determine if this pool of lipids (termed Hb-Ch) was available for exchange with plasma lipoproteins. Design and methods: We studied the in vitro efflux of lipids from human RBCs into fasting plasma in men with either low (control group) or high Hb-Ch (study group). Results: When plasma was incubated with a two-fold excess of autologous RBCs the plasma cholesterol level increased due to a decrease in the level of cholesterol from the RBC membrane (in the control group) and due to a decrease in the level of cholesterol both from the RBC membrane and the Hb-Ch fraction (in the study group). The loss of Hb-Ch-derived phospholipids during lipid efflux was roughly equal to that of Hb-Ch-derived cholesterol. The loss of RBC cholesterol into plasma high-density lipoproteins (HDL) was more pronounced in our study group and correlated with the loss of cholesterol from Hb-Ch. Conclusion: The Hb-Ch adduct significantly contributes to the lipid efflux from RBCs into plasma. The majority of cholesterol released from Hb-Ch appears in the plasma HDL fraction suggesting that Hb-Ch may play a role in reverse cholesterol transport in vivo. (c) 2006 Published by The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",
publisher = "Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford",
journal = "Clinical Biochemistry",
title = "Efflux of cholesterol and phospholipids derived from the haemoglobin-lipid adduct in human red blood cells into plasma",
volume = "40",
number = "5-6",
pages = "305-309",
doi = "10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2006.11.005"
}