Lipoprotein Lecture (Lecture 1) Flashcards
Formula for total cholesterol
LDL cholesterol + HDL cholesterol + VLDL cholesterol
** VLDL cholesterol = triacylglycerol/5 **
How are lipid levels different than blood glucose levels?
Unlike tight regulation of blood glucose levels, lipids levels are variable among people. Things are more complicated, principally because they are many different lipoprotein species involved, each of which is able to undergo significant changes in composition and size and to interact with many target tissues.
Regulation of blood glucose levels
Blood glucose levels are tightly regulated and vary between 80 and 90 mg/dl after many hours of fasting
What is a cholesterol? Where is it synthesized?
Cholesterol is a lipid (very hydrophobic compound) synthesized by virtually all cells, but especially live, intestine, adrenal cortex and reproductive tissues
What are the functions of cholesterol?
(1) structural component of membranes
(2) precursor of bile salts, 5 major classes of steroid hormones, vitamin D
Is cholesterol required in the human diet?
Cholesterol is not required in the human diet because our cells can synthesize cholesterol de novo
Explain connection of cholesterol and cardiac pathologies
Cardiac pathologies associated with cholesterol stem from the regulation of its abundance in the serum, packages in lipoprotein particles, and the propensity of one class of these lipoproteins to accumulate in arterial walls.
What does the structure of cholesterol consist of?
(1) 4 fused rings
(2) a hydrocarbon “tail”
(3) -OH group on C-3
(4) double bond at C-5 to C-6
** These are reactive sites for esterification and oxidation-reduction reactions **
Characteristics of cholesterol
very hydrophobic compound, consists of four fused hydrocarbon rings, eight-carbon, branched hydrocarbon chain attached to carbon 17 of the D ring. Ring A has a hydroxyl group at carbon 3, and ring B has a double bond between carbon 5 and carbon 6
How is plasma cholesterol different from cholesterol in the membrane?
Most plasma cholesterol is in an esterified form (with a fatty acid attached at carbon 3, which makes the structure even more hydrophobic than free (unesterified) cholesterol. Cholesteryl esters are not found in membranes, and are normally present only in low levels in most cells.
What is the consequence of cholestrol’s hydrophobicity?
(1) must be transported in association with protein as a component of a lipoprotein particle
(2) solubilized by phospholipids and biles salts in the bile
Talk about the liver and cholesterol.
Think of the liver’s role with cholesterol as one like a pool. The liver is a pool filled with cholesterol, instead of water. You can put water into the pool or take water out of the pool.
Where does liver cholesterol come from?
(1) diet (via chylomicron remnants)
(2) local synthesis
(3) extrahepatic tissues (via HDL and LDL) - other cells synthesize cholesterol and ship it to the liver
What does the liver do with cholesterol?
can export the cholesterol:
(1) in VLDL
(2) excrete cholesterol in bile
(3) use cholesterol to convert it to bile salts (remember, cholesterol is a precursor to bile salts)
What are the different packaging types for cholesterol?
(1) Chylomicron - the lipoprotein particle derived from the intestine
(2) VLDL - lipoprotein from the liver
(3) LDL/HDL
* * to varying degrees each of the major lipoprotein particles function to transport cholesterol, to and from the peripheral tissues, to and from liver **
What is the only mechanism the body possesses to eliminate cholesterol?
Bile acids in the feces
Where does cholesterol synthesis take place in the cell?
Cytosol
What compound is the source for all carbon atoms in cholesterol?
Acetyl-CoA
What is the major co-factor required for cholesterol synthesis?
NADPH
What are the only two major organs that contribute to de novo cholesterol that we have to care about?
Liver and intestine
What is the enzyme that catalyzes the rate limiting step of cholesterol synthesis?
HMG CoA reductase
What does HMG CoA reductase?
(1) converts HMG CoA to mevalonic acid (mevalonate)
(2) 2 NADPH is used up
(3) releases free CoA
What does mevalonic acid give rise to?
Mevalonic acid gives rise to the isoprene squalene, which ‘folds up’
What does squalene give rise to?
After ‘folding up’ and after a series of intramolecular reactions give rise to lanosterol; lanosterol in turn is converted to cholesterol in many reactions