HDL

The purpose of this intervention study is to investigate the effects of daily egg intake on markers of gut health, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), metabolic, and immune cell profiles in adults with body mass indexes (BMI) in normal and obesity ranges. This study further aims to determine whether egg effects are associated with baseline gut microbiome profiles, and whether egg effects are different between males and females and by BMI status. The study will address the following objectives: Objective 1: Evaluate the effects of daily egg white vs. whole egg intake on gut health, microbiome, and metabolome profiles. Objective 2: Evaluate the effects of daily egg white vs. whole egg intake on HDL composition and function. Objective 3: Evaluate the effects of daily egg white vs. whole egg intake on immune profiles and function in culture (ex vivo). Participants will be asked to consume egg whites and whole eggs on a daily basis for 4-weeks each, and avoid eating eggs for a total of 8 weeks at different points in the study. Participants will be asked to complete surveys about dietary intake and physical activity, as well as provide blood and stool samples throughout the course of the study.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of human mortality worldwide, imposing substantial societal and economic burdens. Traditionally, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has been branded as the "beneficial" lipoprotein. The Framingham study found that for every 1mg/dl increase in HDL, the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) was reduced by 2% in men and 3% in women. Subsequent studies further affirmed the inverse correlation between HDL and the risk of CHD. However, these findings were first challenged by Mendelian randomization studies which failed to identify a causal relationship between HDL and CHD. Moreover, randomized controlled trials demonstrated that therapeutically increasing plasma HDL concentrations did not reduce the risk of CHD events, prompting doubts about HDL's status as "good cholesterol." The relationship between HDL and CHD might be more intricate than previously believed, possibly not just mediated by the quantity of HDL but also intimately linked with its function. Several cross-sectional studies have confirmed the relationship between HDL subtypes and the severity of disease in CHD patients, yet findings are inconsistent. Conventional testing methods lack a universally accepted standard for defining or describing HDL subfractions, with issues like expensive equipment, poor repeatability, cumbersome operation, slow analysis, and low throughput. Microfluidic electrophoresis technology combines the merits of electrophoresis with microfluidic chip technology. This method facilitates efficient separation of substances in microchannels on a substrate, providing rapid and consistent results. Utilizing the latest microfluidic chip technology for HDL subfraction detection offers quick, accurate, and straightforward analysis with minimal sample volume and automation. It precisely reflects the serum concentrations of HDL subfractions HDL2b and HDL3, addressing the current pitfalls of clinical HDL subfraction analysis methods. This approach is poised to become the standard method for HDL subfraction testing. In conclusion, existing studies on the association between HDL subtypes and CHD remain inconsistent, with most having a small sample size. Our study, leveraging microfluidic chip technology for HDL subfraction detection, aims to further investigate: the prognostic value of HDL subtypes for the long-term outcomes of CHD patients, building a risk prediction model for adverse cardiovascular events that includes HDL subtypes.