Evaluation by electron microscopy of the integrity of iodinated plasmalipoproteins

Summary Iodination of proteins and lipoproteins is a widely used in vitro labelling procedure in metabolic, autoradiographic and various other studies. However, all available iodination techniques have involved the possible damage to the proteins by self-irradiation, oxidizing agents, the alkaline milieu or by the introduction of iodine into the molecular structure itself. To evaluate the integrity of iodinated lipoproteins, we observed the electron microscopic appearance of normal and iodinated rabbit very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) by negative staining with phosphotungstic acid. Iodination up to a molar iodine/protein ratio of 2.89 did not result in any change of shape, size or aggregating tendency of the particles. No stacks or disk-like particles like those of various hyperlipoproteinemic states were found. We conclude that electron microscopy is a valuable tool in assessing the morphological appearance of lipoprotein iodination, but it should be complemented by other techniques.