Fatty liver is associated with insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, and the metabolic syndrome (1-7) and predicts future cardiovascular events (4 -8).The pro-atherogenic serum lipid profile in subjects with fatty liver is characterized by elevated levels of triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and an increase in small dense LDL particles (9 -12). Regarding HDL, not only quantitative, but also qualitative and compositional alterations are related to its antiatherogenic properties (13-16). In particular, circulating HDL 2 was found to protect from atherosclerosis (17,18). In the present study, we first investigated whether fatty liver is associated with altered circulating HDL cholesterol subfractions and second whether this relationship is independent of insulin sensitivity, thus possibly representing a direct link between fatty liver and cardiovascular disease.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -In our ongoing study on the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, ϳ300 Caucasians were carefully characterized for fatty liver and its associated metabolic characteristics (19). To select a subgroup that was representative for the percentage of subjects having fatty liver (liver fat Ͼ5.56%) (20) in our large cohort (ϳ40%) and in whom enough sample volume was available to measure the HDL cholesterol subfractions, we randomly selected 8 men and 8 women with fatty liver and 24 control subjects.The subjects underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test to exclude diabetes and calculate insulin sensitivity (21). Total body fat was measured by bioelectrical impedance, visceral fat by magnetic resonance (MR) tomography, and liver fat by 1 H-MR spectroscopy (19). Serum total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol, as well as triglyceride concentrations, were measured by standard colorimetry, plasma adiponectin by radioimmunoassay, and apolipoprotein (apo)B 100 and apoA-I by immunonephelometry. Circulating HDL 2 and HDL 3 cholesterol levels were quantified after ultracentrifugation of 1.5 ml serum (22), and the fatty acid pattern of these subfractions was determined by gas chromatography (23) within the entire particle, thereafter, in a subgroup of 34 subjects in whom sufficient sample volume was available after ultracentrifugation and chemical derivatization. A total of 15 subjects had fatty liver, and 19 were control subjects. Intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery was measured by high-resolution ultrasound. Relationships between parameters were tested using univariate correlations, and multivariate linear regression models were used to investigate independent relationships. P Յ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS -Altogether, 25 women and 15 men were studied. While age (P ϭ 0.08) and total body fat (P ϭ 0.23) were not different between subjects with fatty liver and control subjects, individuals with fatty liver had higher body weight (P ϭ 0.02), BMI (P ϭ 0.002), waist circumference (P ϭ 0.003), and visceral fat (P Ͻ 0.0001), as well as higher IMT (P ϭ 0.04). Furthermore, they had higher fasting (P ϭ 0.006) and 2-h (P ϭ 0...