The Pandinus imperator haemolymph lipoprotein, an unusual phosphatidylserine carrying lipoprotein.

The haemolymph lipoprotein of the scorpion, Pandinus imperator was isolated and characterised. Contrary to the lipoproteins of insects and the discoidal HDL-lipoproteins of a crayfish and polychaete, the Pandinus lipoprotein consists of three instead of two apoproteins (apoPiLp I = 230 kDa, apoPiLp II = 130 kDa and apoPiLp III = 120 kDa). The apolipoproteins are arranged in varying stoichiometries as judged by cross-linking experiments. In lipoprotein samples from individual animals, the two smaller subunits occurred in a 1:1 stoichiometry, while the relative amount of the 230 kDa peptide varied. The lipoprotein is a slightly heart-shaped HDL with a diameter of approximately 15 nm. It is pr…