Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–2Cite as

Lipoprotein

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 16 Accesses

Synonyms

Cholesterol

Definition

Lipoproteins are complex substances containing lipids and specific proteins called apolipoproteins or apoproteins.

Description

Lipoprotein particles include chylomicrons, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate low-density lipoproteins (IDL), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL).

Each of these particles differs in their lipid and protein composition, density and size, and site of origin. Lipoproteins act as transporter of lipids and render the lipids as water-soluble. Each lipoprotein is described in terms of their origin and metabolism in the following sections.

Chylomicrons are assembled in the intestinal cells, and they carry the dietary triacylglycerol, cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins, and cholesterol esters to the peripheral tissues of the body. Chylomicrons are highest in their lipid content and lowest in density as compared to other lipoproteins. The characteristic apolipoprotein associated with...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References and Further Reading

  • Harvey, R. A., & Ferrier, D. R. (2008). Cholesterol and steroid metabolism. In R. A. Harvey (Ed.), Lippincott’s illustrated reviews biochemistry (pp. 219–244). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, Division of General Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Manjunath Harlapur

  2. Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Daichi Shimbo

Authors
  1. Manjunath Harlapur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daichi Shimbo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manjunath Harlapur .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Linda C. Baumann

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Harlapur, M., Shimbo, D. (2019). Lipoprotein. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1276-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1276-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation