• Ablajan Mahmut, Marie-Chloé Boulanger, Dominique Fournier, Christian Couture, Sylvain Trahan, Sylvain Pagé, Benoît Arsenault, Jean-Pierre Després, Philippe Pibarot, and Patrick Mathieu.
• Department of Surgery, Laboratoire d'Études Moléculaires des Valvulopathies, Groupe de Recherche en Valvulopathies, Quebec Heart and Lung Institute/Research Center, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2013 Jun 1; 43 (6): 570-8.

BackgroundCalcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a chronic disorder characterized by a fibrocalcific remodelling. It is suspected that lipid retention within the aortic valve may be one important mechanism participating to aortic valve remodelling. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is implicated in lipid metabolism and may play a role in lipid retention within the aortic valve.MethodsIn 57 patients, CAVD were analysed for the expression of LPL by q-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Expression of oxidized-LDL (ox-LDL) and decorin was also documented. In addition, a complete blood profile, including the size of LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, were performed to find associations between the blood lipid profile and expression of ox-LDL and LPL within CAVD.ResultsImmunohistochemistry studies revealed that LPL was expressed in stenotic aortic valves as a diffuse staining and also in dense cellular areas where macrophages were abundant. Expression of LPL co-localized with decorin and ox-LDL. In turn, valves with higher amount of ox-LDL had elevated number of LPL transcripts. In addition, we documented that the small, dense HDL phenotype was associated with an elevated amount of ox-LDL and LPL transcripts within CAVD. Furthermore, expression of LPL was associated with several indices of fibrocalcific remodelling of the aortic valve.ConclusionExpression of LPL within CAVD is related to the amount of ox-LDL, which is, in turn, associated with the small, dense HDL phenotype. Lipid retention associated with smaller HDL particles may participate in the expression of LPL, whereby a fibrocalcific remodelling of the aortic valve is promoted.© 2013 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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