Apolipoproteins and their subspecies in human cerebrospinal fluid and plasma

INTRODUCTION: Subspecies of apolipoproteins can be defined by fractionating apolipoproteins based on the presence and absence of coexisting apolipoproteins. METHODS: We determined age- and sex-adjusted correlations of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay–measured plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) apolipoproteins (apoA-I, apoC-III, apoE, and apoJ) or apolipoprotein subspecies (apoA-I with and without apoC-III, ApoE, or apoJ; apoE with and without apoC-III or apoJ) in 22 dementia-free participants. RESULTS: CSF apoE did not correlate with plasma apolipoproteins or their subspecies. CSF apoJ correlated most strongly with plasma apoA-I without apoJ (r = 0.7). CSF apoA-I correlated similarly strong with plasma total apoA-I and all apoA-I subspecies (r ≥ 0.4) except for apoA-I with apoE (r = 0.3) or apoA-I with apoJ (r = 0.3). CSF apoC-III was most strongly correlated with plasma apoA-I with apoC-III (r = 0.7). DISCUSSION: CSF levels of some apolipoproteins implicated in the pathophysiology of dementia might be better approximated by specific plasma apolipoprotein subspecies than total plasma concentrations.