Endogenous Triglycerides

Major lipids Exogenous triglycerides Endogenous triglycerides Endogenous triglycerides, cholesteryl esters. Cholesteryl. esters Phospholipids Cholesteryl esters, Phospholipidj... 

FIGURE 9. Endogenous lipoprotein metabolism. In liver cells, cholesterol and triglycerides are packaged into VLDL particles and exported into blood where VLDL is converted to IDL. Intermediate-density lipoprotein can be either cleared by hepatic LDL receptors or further metabolized to LDL. LDL can be cleared by hepatic LDL receptors or can enter the arterial wall, contributing to atherosclerosis. Acetyl CoA, acetyl coenzyme A Apo, apolipoprotein C, cholesterol CE, cholesterol ester FA, fatty acid HL, hepatic lipase HMG CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl coenzyme A IDL, intermediate-density lipoprotein LCAT, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase LDL, low-density lipoprotein LPL, lipoprotein lipase VLDL, very low-density lipoprotein. 

Lipoproteins. A lipoprotein is an endogenous macromolecule consisting of an inner apolar core of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides surrounded by a monolayer of phospholipid embedded with cholesterol and apoproteins. The functions of lipoproteins are to transport lipids and to mediate lipid metabolism. There are four main types of lipoproteins (classified based on their flotation rates in salt solutions) chylomicrons, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). These differ in size, molecular weight, and density and have different lipid, protein, and apoprotein compositions (Table 11). The apoproteins are important determinants in the metabolism of lipoproteins—they serve as ligands for lipoprotein receptors and as mediators in lipoproteins interconversion by enzymes. 

Starvation elicits mobilization of triglycerides from the adipose tissue and inhibits the endogenic cholesterol synthesis owing to the low activity of hydroxy-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase. The latter process provides the possibility for the active production of ketone bodies in the liver. 

It, thus, appears that the capacity to catalyze reactions of transesterification and esterification is a characteristic of various hydrolases (Chapt. 3). Apart from the carboxylesterases discussed here, lipoprotein lipase has the capacity to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters from ethanol and triglycerides, or even fatty acids [127]. Ethanol, 2-chloroethanol, and other primary alcohols serve to esterify endogenous fatty acids and a number of xenobiotic acids [128-130]. In this context, it is interesting to note that the same human liver carboxylesterase was able to catalyze the hydrolysis of cocaine to benzoylecgonine, the transesterification of cocaine, and the ethyl esterification of fatty acids [131]. 

Whereas LPL predominantly hydrolyzes triglycerides in chylomicrons and VLDL, it has been shown that HL primarily hydrolyzes triglycerides and phospholipids from small VLDL, IDL, and HDL [82]. Like LPL, HL binds to the endothelium through heparan sulfate proteoglycans and is released upon heparin administration because of its higher affinity for heparin than for the endogenous heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Intravenous injection of a heparin bolus displaces the HL enzyme into postheparin plasma, where its activity can be quantified. 

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