Lipid Transport Flashcards
What are lipids
- Structurally diverse group of compounds
- Hydrophobic molecules insoluble in water = Problem for transport in blood!
- Solution- transported in blood bound to carriers
- ~ 2% of lipids (mostly fatty acids) carried bound to albumin but this has a limited capacity (~ 3 mmol/L)
- ~ 98% of lipids are carried as lipoprotein particles consisting of phospholipid, cholesterol, cholesterol esters, proteins & TAG
What are different classes of lipids?
Tri/di/monoacylglycerol fatty acids Cholesterol/cholesterol esters Phospholipids Vitamins A D E K
What are the typical plasma lipid concentration ranges?
TAG: 0-2 mmol/L Phospholipids: ~2.5 mmol/L Total cholesterol: <5.0 mmol/L Free fatty acids: 0.3-0.8 mmol/L Total lipids 4000-8500 mg/L
Describe the structure of a phospholipid
Polar hydrophilic head
Phosphate
Glycerol
Non polar fatty acid tails
Give examples of the classification of the polar head group
Choline -> phosphatidylcholine
Inositol -> phosphatidylinositol
Wha are ways that phospholipids can be arranged?
Liposome - 2 layers creating a sphere, can have different environments inside and out, e.g. pH
Micelle - single layer sphere
Bilayer sheet - e.g. membranes
Where is cholesterol obtained/synthesised?
Some obtained fromdiet but most synthesised in liver
What is cholesterol used for?
- Essential component of membranes (modulates fluidity)
- Precursor of steroid hormones
- Cortisol
- Aldosterone
- Testosterone
- Oestrogen
- Precursor of bile acids (produced in liver stored in GB released into GI)
How is cholesterol transported around the body?
As cholesterol ester. OH group esterified with fatty acid (R) to OCOR group by enzymes LCAT or cholesterol acyltransferase
What are lipoproteins?
Phospholipid monolayer with small amount of cholesterol
Peripheral apolioproteins (apoC, apoE) and Integral Apolipoproteins (apoA, apoB)
Has cargo inside
- TAG, Cholesterol ester, Vit ADEK
What are the 5 distinct classes of lipoproteins according to density?
- Chylomicrons
- VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins)
- IDL (Intermediate Density Lipoproteins)
- LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins
- HDL (High Density Lipoproteins)
If VLDL become depleted they become IDL, if these deplete they become LDL etc etc
Which classes of lipoproteins are carriers of fat and which are carriers of cholesterol ester
• Each contains variable content of apolipoprotein, triglyceride, cholesterol and cholesterol ester
Chylomicrons And VLDL are main carriers of fat
IDL, LDL And HDL are main carriers of cholesterol ester
How is density of lipoproteins obtained and how is particle diameter related to density?
Sucrose gradient to separate proteins out
Higher density migrate further in sucrose gradient
• Density obtained by flotation ultracentrifugation
• Particle diameter inversely proportional to density
Which class of lipids are the most/least dense
(Most dense/smallest diameter) HDL -> LDL -> IDL -> VDL -> chylomicron (least dense/largest diameter)
When are chlomicrons normally present in blood
4-6 hours after a meal