Hepatic lipase secretion in human hepatoblastoma cell line Hep G2 is not related to cellular cholesterol homeostasis.

The human hepatoblastoma cell line Hep G2 releases the enzyme hepatic lipase during incubation with heparin. In this study, hepatic lipase activity was released by low concentrations of heparin, and the release was linear with time for up to about 10 hours. Preincubations of cells with LDL or compactin induced marked but differential changes in hepatic lipase secretion, cellular cholesterol content and low density lipoprotein receptor activity, suggesting that the secretion of hepatic lipase is regulated independently of cholesterol homeostasis.