Metabolic and functional relevance of HDL subspecies

Authors: ASZTALOS, BELA F. - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; TANI, MARIKO - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; SCHAEFER, ERNST J. - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Current Opinion in Lipidology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2011
Publication Date: 6/1/2011
Citation: Asztalos, B., Tani, M., Schaefer, E. 2011. Metabolic and functional relevance of HDL subspecies. Current Opinion in Lipidology. 22(3):176-185.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Though the association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) was described as early as 1950, HDL’s role in CVD still remains to be fully elucidated. There are numerous publications showing the inverse relationship between HDL-C and CVD risk; however, in the last decade, it has been suggested that total HDL-C is not the best metric for measuring CVD risk. It has been assumed that the varied physiological functions of HDL are a result of heterogeneity of HDL complexes. Though it has been widely accepted that HDL is a heterogeneous group of lipoprotein particles; even the “HDL investigators” have been surprised by the extreme degree of variance revealed by proteomic analyses. While lipoproteins are commonly described as lipid carriers in the circulation; Shlomo Eisenberg recognized more than 25 years ago that “HDL cannot be classified simply as a cholesterol-carrier in plasma; other considerations must apply to this lipoprotein.”