Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism

Estimation of the Concentration of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Plasma, Without Use of the Preparative Ultracentrifuge

Abstract A method for estimating the cholesterol content of the serum low-density lipoprotein fraction (Sf0-20) is presented. The method involves measurements of fasting plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, none of which requires the use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Comparison of this suggested procedure with the more direct procedure, in which the ultracentrifuge is used, yielded correlation coefficients of .94 to .99, depending on the patient population compared.

Ferroptosis: A Regulated Cell Death Nexus Linking Metabolism, Redox Biology, and Disease

Ferroptosis: mechanisms, biology and role in disease

Apolipoprotein E: Cholesterol Transport Protein with Expanding Role in Cell Biology

Apolipoprotein E is a plasma protein that serves as a ligand for low density lipoprotein receptors and, through its interaction with these receptors, participates in the transport of cholesterol and other lipids among various cells of the body. A mutant form of apolipoprotein E that is defective in binding to low density lipoprotein receptors is associated with familial type III hyperlipoproteinemia, a genetic disorder characterized by elevated plasma cholesterol levels and accelerated coronary artery disease. Apolipoprotein E is synthesized in various organs, including liver, brain, spleen, and kidney, and is present in high concentrations in interstitial fluid, where it appears to participate in cholesterol redistribution from cells with excess cholesterol to those requiring cholesterol. Apolipo-protein E also appears to be involved in the repair response to tissue injury; for example, markedly increased amounts of apolipoprotein E are found at sites of peripheral nerve injury and regeneration. Other functions of apolipoprotein E, unrelated to lipid transport, are becoming known, including immunoregulation and modulation of cell growth and differentiation.

The cell biology of ferroptosis