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Dr. Nobuhiko Nagano, Associate Professor of Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) et al. have reported in the following article on the relationship between Cholesterol Uptake Capacity (CUC) and anthropometric measurements, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, and HDL-C subclasses in preterm infants.

Kazumasa Fuwa et al.Cholesterol Uptake Capacity in Cord Blood of Preterm Infants Clin Lab. 2022 Oct 1;68(10).

<Back ground>
In human fetuses HDL is the major cholesterol carrier. This was explored and reported through previous studies as follows: HDL-C, especially large-size HDL-C, is associated with normal growth in neonates. In human fetal umbilical cord blood large HDL-C is relatively higher than in adults. And fetuses with SLOS (Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome) who are unable to produce cholesterol by themselves and develop hypocholesteremia, HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) from the placenta is enhanced compared to a healthy fetuses. On the other hand, cholesterol uptake capacity (CUC) in preterm infants has not been sufficiently studied, and the relationship between CUC and cholesterol transport in preterm infants is unclear.

In this study, 58 preterm infants were divided into two group: 20 small-for-gestational age (SGA) preterm infants and 38 appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) preterm infants. Cord blood was sampled and CUC, anthropometric measurements, and lipoprotein profiles were compared between the two groups.
As a results, they revealed SGA preterm infants showed significantly lower HDL-C and CUC than AGA preterm infants. In HDL-C subclasses, very large, large, and medium HDL-C were significantly lower in SGA preterm infants. They found a positive correlation between CUC and birth weight, birth height, and birth head circumference. Moreover, CUC had a strong positive correlation with HDL-C and very large, large, and medium HDL-C. 

As CUC strongly correlated with large- and medium-size HDL-C, it is concluded that CUC may play an important role in normal growth in preterm infants and indicate the ability of large- and medium-size HDL to transport cholesterol from the mother to fetus.


In this article, Cholesterol Uptake Capacity (CUC) were measured using a fully automated immunoassay system, HI-1000, and for detailed analysis of lipoproteins including HDL-C subclasses our GP-HPLC method (LipoSEARCH®) is used. 

<Cholesterol Uptake Capacity>

HDL-C is known to be one of the important indicators in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease. In recent clinical studies, not only HDL-C but also HDL subclasses, particle numbers, and functional evaluations have attracted growing attentions.
Cholesterol Efflux Capacity (CEC) of HDL has been used to evaluate HDL function, but it requires complicated processes such as labeling with cultured cells and radioisotopes. Recently, it was developed a rapid and simple method for evaluating HDL Cholesterol Uptake Capacity (CUC) using a fully automated immunoassay system (Hl-1000) by Sysmex Corporation. It is now used for evaluation of HDL functionality.

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