Hence, the lipoprotein-mediated cholesterol metabolism (cholesterol transport) has aroused great attention and showed the benefit for the in-depth understanding of CVDs, as well as the prevention and treatment of CVDs.Īs shown in Figure 1, the lipoprotein-mediated cholesterol metabolism can be divided into exogenous and endogenous pathways. The last two might be the significant sections of cholesterol transport and metabolism: (1) LDL could transfer lipids into the blood vessel walls, and contribute to the atherosclerosis, which causally be associated with CVD and all-cause mortality (2) HDL could remove the lipids and carry them back to the liver, being regarded as “good” one. Based on density and size, lipoproteins can be classified as ultra-low- (chylomicrons), very low- (VLDL), intermediate- (IDL), low- (LDL), and high- density lipoproteins (HDL). Lipoproteins (consists of apolipoproteins, phospholipid and cholesterol) play an important role in the transport of cholesterol. For instance, cellular cholesterol uptake is increased in atherosclerosis, while cholesterol efflux is downregulated.

To some degree, these metabolism disturbances attribute to the net movement of cholesterol among blood and peripheral tissues. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of mortality in many developed and developing countries, roots in the evolvement of atherosclerosis which is associated with profound disturbances of cholesterol metabolism.

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