Chylomicron

FIGURE 4.29 Relation between molecular weight of lipoproteins and elution volume for combination GFC columns. Column 7.5 mm i.d. X 60 cm. Sample Chylomicron, VLDL, LDL, HDLj, HDL3, albumin, and ovalbumin. Elution 0.1 hA Tris—HCI buffer (pH 7.4). Flow rate 1.0 ml/min. 

FIGURE 24.3 (a) A duct at the junction of the pancreas and duodenum secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum, the first portion of the small intestine, (b) Hydrolysis of triacylglycerols by pancreatic and intestinal lipases. Pancreatic lipases cleave fatty acids at the C-1 and C-3 positions. Resulting monoacylglycerols with fatty acids at C-2 are hydrolyzed by intestinal lipases. Fatty acids and monoacylglycerols are absorbed through the intestinal wall and assembled into lipoprotein aggregates termed chylomicrons (discussed in Chapter 25). 

HDL and VLDL are assembled primarily in the endoplasmic reticulum of the liver (with smaller amounts produced in the intestine), whereas chylomicrons form in the intestine. LDL is not synthesized directly, but is made from VLDL. LDL appears to be the major circulatory complex for cholesterol and cholesterol esters. The primary task of chylomicrons is to transport triacylglycerols. Despite all this, it is extremely important to note that each of these lipoprotein classes contains some of each type of lipid. The relative amounts of HDL and LDL are important in the disposition of cholesterol in the body and in the development of arterial plaques (Figure 25.36). The structures of the various... 

The livers and intestines of animals are the primary sources of circulating lipids. Chylomicrons carry triacylglycerol and cholesterol esters from the intestines to other tissues, and VLDLs carry lipid from liver, as shown in Figure 25.38. At... 

Endothelial anchored enzyme in muscle and adipose tissue primarily responsible for hydrolysis of chylomicron and VLDL triglycerides. 

Disorders of lipoprotein metabolism involve perturbations which cause elevation of triglycerides and/or cholesterol, reduction of HDL-C, or alteration of properties of lipoproteins, such as their size or composition. These perturbations can be genetic (primary) or occur as a result of other diseases, conditions, or drugs (secondary). Some of the most important secondary disorders include hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, renal disease, and alcohol use. Hypothyroidism causes elevated LDL-C levels due primarily to downregulation of the LDL receptor. Insulin-resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus result in impaired capacity to catabolize chylomicrons and VLDL, as well as excess hepatic triglyceride and VLDL production. Chronic kidney disease, including but not limited to end-stage... 

The nonpolar lipid core consists of mainly triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester and is surrounded by a single surface layer of amphipathic phospholipid and cholesterol molecules (Figure 25-1). These are oriented so that their polar groups face outward to the aqueous medium, as in the cell membrane (Chapter 14). The protein moiety of a lipoprotein is known as an apo-lipoprotein or apoprotein, constituting nearly 70% of some HDL and as litde as 1% of chylomicrons. Some apolipoproteins are integral and cannot be removed, whereas others are free to transfer to other hpoproteins. 

Chylomicron remnants Chylomicrons 45-150 <1.006 6-8 92-94 Triacylglycerol, phospholipids, cholesterol B-48, E... 

The main apohpoprotein of LDL (P-lipopro-tein) is apohpoprotein B (B-lOO) and is found also in VLDL. Chylomicrons contain a truncated form of apo B (B-48) that is synthesized in the intestine, while B-lOO is synthesized in the hver. Apo B-lOO is one of the longest single polypeptide chains known, having 4536 amino acids and a molecular mass of 550,000 Da. Apo B-48 (48% of B-lOO) is formed from the same mRNA as apo B-lOO after the introduction of a stop signal by an RNA editing enzyme. Apo C-1, C-11, and C-111 are smaller polypeptides (molecular mass 7000— 9000 Da) freely transferable between several different hpoproteins. Apo E is foimd in VLDL, HDL, chylomicrons, and chylomicron remnants it accounts for 5— 10% of total VLDL apohpoproteins in normal subjects. 

TRIACYLGLYCEROL IS TRANSPORTED FROM THE INTESTINES IN CHYLOMICRONS FROM THE LIVER IN VERY LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS... 

By definition, chylomicrons are found in chyle formed only by the lymphatic system draining the intestine. They are responsible for the transport of all dietary lipids into the circulation. Small quantities of VLDL... 

There are striking similarities in the mechanisms of formation of chylomicrons by intestinal cells and of VLDL by hepatic parenchymal cells (Figure 25—2), perhaps because—apart from the mammary gland—the intestine and liver are the only tissues from which particulate lipid is secreted. Newly secreted or nascent chylomicrons and VLDL contain only a small amount of apolipoproteins C and E, and the frill complement is acquired from HDL in the circulation (Figures 25—3 and 25-4). Apo B is essential for chylomicron and VLDL formation. In abetalipoproteinemia (a rare disease), lipoproteins containing apo B are not formed and lipid droplets accumulate in the intestine and liver. 

CHYLOMICRONS VERY LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS ARE RAPIDLY CATABOLIZED... 

The clearance of labeled chylomicrons from the blood is rapid, the half-time of disappearance being under 1 hour in humans. Larger particles are catabolized more quickly than smaller ones. Fatty acids originating from chylomicron triacylglycerol are delivered mainly to adipose tissue, heart, and muscle (80%), while about 20% goes to the liver. However, the liver does not metabolize native chylomicrons or VLDL significantly thus, the fatty acids in the liver must be secondary to their metabolism in extrahepatic tissues. 

Triacylglycerols of Chylomicrons VLDL Are Hydrolyzed by Lipoprotein Lipase... 

Figure 25-2. The formation and secretion of (A) chylomicrons by an intestinal cell and (B) very low density lipoproteins by a hepatic cell. (RER, rough endoplasmic reticulum SER, smooth endoplasmic reticulum G, Golgi apparatus N, nucleus C, chylomicrons VLDL, very low density lipoproteins E, endothelium SD, space of Disse, containing blood plasma.) Apolipoprotein B, synthesized in the RER, is incorporated into lipoproteins in the SER, the main site of synthesis of triacylglycerol. After addition of carbohydrate residues in G, they are released from the cell by reverse pinocytosis. Chylomicrons pass into the lymphatic system. VLDL are secreted into the space of Disse and then into the hepatic sinusoids through fenestrae in the endothelial lining.

Reaction with lipoprotein lipase results in the loss of approximately 90% of the triacylglycerol of chylomicrons and in the loss of apo C (which remrns to HDL) but not apo E, which is retained. The resulting chy-lotnicron remnant is about half the diameter of the parent chylomicron and is relatively enriched in cholesterol and cholesteryl esters because of the loss of triacylglycerol (Figure 25-3). Similar changes occur to VLDL, with the formation of VLDL remnants or IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein) (Figure 25-4). 

Chylomicron remnants are taken up by the liver by receptor-mediated endocytosis, and the cholesteryl esters and triacylglycerols are hydrolyzed and metabolized. Uptake is mediated by a receptor specific for apo E (Figure 25-3), and both the LDL (apo B-lOO, E) receptor and the LRP (LDL receptor-related protein)... 

Figure 25-3. Metabolic fate of chylomicrons. (A, apolipoprotein A B-48, apolipoprotein B-48 , apolipoprotein C E, apolipoprotein E HDL, high-density lipoprotein TG, triacylgiycerol C, cholesterol and cholesteryl ester P, phospholipid HL, hepatic lipase LRP, LDL receptor-reiated protein.) Only the predominant lipids are shown.

HDL is synthesized and secreted from both liver and intestine (Figure 25—5). However, apo C and apo E are synthesized in the liver and transferred from fiver HDL to intestinal HDL when the latter enters the plasma. A major function of HDL is to act as a repository for the apo C and apo E required in the metabohsm of chylomicrons and VLDL. Nascent HDL consists of discoid phosphohpid bilayers containing apo A and free cholesterol. These hpoproteins are similar to the particles found in the plasma of patients with a deficiency of the plasma enzyme lecithimcholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and in the plasma of patients with obstructive jaundice. LCAT—and the LCAT activator apo A-I— bind to the disk, and the surface phosphohpid and free cholesterol are converted into cholesteryl esters and... 

HDL concentrations vary reciprocally with plasma triacylglycerol concentrations and directly with the activity of lipoprotein lipase. This may be due to surplus surface constituents, eg, phospholipid and apo A-I being released during hydrolysis of chylomicrons and VLDL and contributing toward the formation of preP-HDL and discoidal HDL. HDLj concentrations are inversely related to the incidence of coronary atherosclerosis, possibly because they reflect the efficiency of reverse cholesterol transport. HDL, (HDLj) is found in... 

Figure 25-5. Metabolism of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in reverse cholesteroi transport. (LCAT, lecithinxholesterol acyltransferase C, cholesterol CE, cholesteryl ester PL, phospholipid A-l, apolipoprotein A-l SR-Bl, scavenger receptor B1 ABC-1, ATP binding cassette transporter 1.) Prep-HDL, HDLj, HDL3—see Table 25-1. Surplus surface constituents from the action of lipoprotein lipase on chylomicrons and VLDL are another source of preP-HDL. Hepatic lipase activity is increased by androgens and decreased by estrogens, which may account for higher concentrations of plasma HDLj in women.

Four major groups of lipoproteins are recognized Chylomicrons transport lipids resulting from digestion and absorption. Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) transport triacylglycerol from the liver. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) deliver cholesterol to the tissues, and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) remove cholesterol from the tissues in the process known as reverse cholesterol transport. 

Chylomicrons and VLDL are metabolized by hydrolysis of their triacylglycerol, and lipoprotein remnants are left in the circulation. These are taken up by liver, but some of the remnants (IDL) resulting from VLDL form LDL which is taken up by the liver and other tissues via the LDL receptor. 

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