Lipid Metabolism Flashcards
Lipids is stored as addipose tissue for what?
4
- insulation
- support vital organs
- generate heat
- stored as energy reserve
Lipid ingestion goes through digestion and absoprtion and goes where?
lipids in blood as lipoproteins
Lipids in blood as lipoproteins are then used as what?
5
- excreted in the feces
- stored as an energy reserve
- synthesized from carbohydrates and proteins
- Oxidize for energy
- Convert to brain and nerve tissue
What are lipids?
What are the three different kinds?
chemical substances composed of long-chain fatty acids
Triglycerides
Phospholipids
Cholesterol
What lipid is used in energy metabolism?
Triglycerides
Phospholipids are important structural components of what?
4
Important structural components of
- lipoproteins,
- blood clotting components,
- myelin sheath and
- cell membranes
Funcitons of cholesterol?
3
Where is it obtained and synthesized?
Elevated levels are implicated in the development of what?
- Precursor of steroid hormones
- Necessary for cell membrane synthesis
- Metabolic precursor of bile acids
Obtained from the diet and synthesized in the liver and intestinal mucosa
Elevated levels are implicated in the development of atherosclerosis
Where are chylomicrons synthesized?
They are involved in the transport of what? 2
Largest of the protein molecules
Synthesized in the wall of the small intestine
Involved in the transport of dietary triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol that have been absorbed from the GI tract
Where does cholesterol transfer TG to? 2
Remnant particles, which contain cholesterol, are then taken up by what?
What does this cholesterol do then?
2
Transfer their TG to the cells of adipose and skeletal muscle tissue
the liver
The cholesterol is used in the synthesis of VLDL or is excreted in the bile
The rate limiting step in cholesterol synthesis involves the enzyme what?
3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase
Cholesterol and other lipids are transported in the circulation as a component of what?
lipoproteins
What are the funtions of lipoproteins?
cholesterol and triglyceride are insoluble in plasma, they are encapsulated by special fat-carrying proteins called lipoproteins
Five types of Lipoproteins (listed in order of % of TG)
What is the main carrier of cholesterol?
- Chylomicrons
- Very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)
- Intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL)
- Low density lipoprotein (LDL)
The main carrier of cholesterol*** - High density lipoprotein (HDL)
The cholesterol level in blood is determined by a combination of factors and/or secondary causes?
10
- Genetics
- Age
- Dietary intake of saturated fat and cholesterol
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Poorly controlled DM
- Hypothyroidism
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Obstructive liver disease
- Alcoholism
- Drug therapy (cyclosporine, glucocorticoids)
The liver synthesizes and releases what lipids? 2
VLDL and HDL
VLDL’s contain large amounts of what?
Provide the primary pathway for transport of what?
The TG content of VLDL particles initially is___ and _______ progressively as a result of enzyme activity in the bloodstream
triglycerides
endogenous TG produced in the liver
high,
decreases
VLDL carry TG to what where they are removed? 2
What does this result in?
2
fat and muscle cells
- Resulting IDL fragments are enriched in cholesterol and taken to the liver and recycled to form VLDL….
- or converted to LDL in the vascular compartment
IDLs are the main source of LDL
What is considered bad cholesterol?
LDL
LDL is removed from the circulation by what?
2
- by LDL receptors (70%) on hepatocytes or
- by non-receptor mechanisms involving scavenger cells such as macrophages
the liver plays an extremely important role in LDL metabolism
What non-hepatic tissues also use the receptor-dependent pathway to obtain cholesterol needed for membrane and horomone synthesis?
4
- adrenal glands,
- smooth muscle cells,
- endothelial cells,
- lymphoid cells
The amount of LDL that is removed by the scavenger pathway is directly related to what?
The uptake of LDL by macrophages in the arterial wall can result in the accumulation of what? 3
to the plasma cholesterol level
- Insoluble cholesterol esters
- Formation of foam cells
- Development of atherosclerosis
* *more about this later