Lipoprotein

A particle made of lipids and proteins that transports water-insoluble lipids through bodily fluids. Its protein components help keep its lipid cargo dispersed and direct it to tissues.

Lipoprotein structure: The arrangement of a lipoprotein’s lipid core, surface lipids, and apolipoproteins. Its amphipathic surface encloses hydrophobic cargo while remaining compatible with watery blood.
Triglyceride: A lipid consisting of glycerol esterified with three fatty acids, used chiefly for energy storage. Triglycerides form much of the cargo in chylomicrons and very-low-density lipoproteins.
Lipid panel: A blood test that measures cholesterol and triglycerides, often including calculated or directly measured lipoprotein cholesterol. Clinical lipid panels estimate the burden of cholesterol carried in major lipoprotein classes.
Low-density lipoprotein: An apoB-containing lipoprotein that transports cholesterol through blood to tissues and the liver. LDL is often singled out clinically, but it is only one class within the lipoprotein family.
Chylomicron assembly: The formation of nascent chylomicrons in intestinal cells for export of absorbed dietary lipids. This is the entry point for dietary triglycerides into lipoprotein transport.
Apolipoprotein: A protein component of a lipoprotein that stabilizes particles and regulates their metabolism. Apolipoproteins provide enzyme cofactors and recognition signals for lipoprotein processing.
Cholesterol: A sterol that is a structural component of animal cell membranes and precursor to steroid molecules and bile acids. Lipoproteins distribute cholesterol because it is poorly soluble in blood.
Lipoprotein(a): An LDL-like particle with apolipoprotein(a) attached to apolipoprotein B-100. Inherited high levels of this distinct particle are associated with cardiovascular risk.
Intermediate-density lipoprotein: A remnant particle formed during the conversion of VLDL to LDL. IDL occupies the metabolic transition between two major apoB-containing particle classes.
Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein: A lipid-transfer protein required for assembling apoB-containing lipoproteins in the intestine and liver. It loads lipids onto apolipoprotein B during particle formation.

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