Intracapillary LPL levels in brown adipose tissue, visualized with an antibody-based approach, are regulated by ANGPTL4 at thermoneutral temperatures

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is secreted into the interstitial spaces by parenchymal cells and then transported into capillaries by GPIHBP1. LPL carries out the lipolytic processing of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins (TRLs), but the tissue-specific regulation of LPL is incompletely understood. Plasma levels of TG hydrolase activity after heparin injection are often used to draw inferences about intravascular LPL levels, but the validity of these inferences is unclear. Moreover, plasma TG hydrolase activity levels are not helpful for understanding LPL regulation in specific tissues. Here, we sought to elucidate LPL regulation under thermoneutral conditions (30 °C). To pursue this objective, we developed an antibody-based method to quantify (in a direct fashion) LPL levels inside capillaries. At 30 °C, intracapillary LPL levels fell sharply in brown adipose tissue (BAT) but not heart. The reduced intracapillary LPL levels were accompanied by reduced margination of TRLs along capillaries. ANGPTL4 expression in BAT increased fourfold at 30 °C, suggesting a potential explanation for the lower intracapillary LPL levels. Consistent with that idea, Angptl4 deficiency normalized both LPL levels and TRL margination in BAT at 30 °C. In Gpihbp1 –/– mice housed at 30 °C, we observed an ANGPTL4-dependent decrease in LPL levels within the interstitial spaces of BAT, providing in vivo proof that ANGPTL4 regulates LPL levels before LPL transport into capillaries. In conclusion, our studies have illuminated intracapillary LPL regulation under thermoneutral conditions. Our approaches will be useful for defining the impact of genetic variation and metabolic disease on intracapillary LPL levels and TRL processing.