Serum amyloid A does not affect high-density lipoprotein cholesterol measurement by a homogeneous assay

Background: Serum amyloid A (SAA), which is one of the acute phase proteins, alters the structure of HDL by associating with it during circulation. We focused on whether SAA influences the values of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) measurements when using a homogeneous assay. Methods: HDLs were isolated by ultracentrifugation from serum samples of 248 patients that were stratified into three groups based on their serum SAA concentrations (low: SAA <= 8 mu g/mL; middle: 8 < SAA <= 100 mu g/mL; and high: SAA > 100 mu g/mL). HDL-C concentrations of the serum samples measured by the homogeneous assay were compared with the total cholesterol concentrations of HDL fractions isolated by ultracentrifugation. Results: HDLs obtained from patients with low SAA concentrations were separated into their general particle sizes and classified as HDL2 and HDL3 by native-gel electrophoresis. On the other hand, HDLs obtained from patients with high SAA concentrations occasionally showed distributions different from the typical sizes of HDL2 and HDL3, such as extremely small or large particles. Nevertheless, HDL-C concentrations measured using the homogeneous assay were strongly correlated with those measured using the ultracentrifugation method, regardless of the SAA concentrations. However, the ratios of HDL-C concentrations obtained by the homogeneous assay to those obtained by the ultracentrifugation method for patients with high SAA concentrations were significantly lower than those of patients with low SAA concentrations. Conclusions: A large amount of SAA attached to HDL altered the HDL particle size but did not essentially affect HDL-C measurement by homogeneous assay.