Cockerill G W, Reed S
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Int Rev Cytol. 1999;188:257-97. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)61569-7.
The epidemiological evidence showing a strong inverse correlation between the level of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and the incidence of heart disease suggests that HDL has a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. The mechanism of this protective effect has been the raison d'etre for much research. The ability of HDL to mediate cholesterol efflux from peripheral tissues has been used to explain the cardioprotective effect of HDL. However, there is little direct evidence to suggest that in subjects with low plasma levels of HDL the rate of cholesterol efflux from peripheral tissues is significantly reduced. This observation suggested that HDL may be mediating its protective effect through other mechanisms. This review provides an account of the burgeoning evidence that HDL has many effects on cellular processes, in addition to the effects on cholesterol efflux, and will illustrate the multipotency of this lipoprotein.
流行病学证据表明，血浆高密度脂蛋白（HDL）水平与心脏病发病率之间存在强烈的负相关，这表明HDL对心血管疾病具有保护作用。这种保护作用的机制一直是众多研究的存在理由。HDL介导外周组织胆固醇流出的能力已被用来解释HDL的心脏保护作用。然而，几乎没有直接证据表明，在血浆HDL水平较低的受试者中，外周组织胆固醇流出率会显著降低。这一观察结果表明，HDL可能通过其他机制介导其保护作用。这篇综述阐述了越来越多的证据，即HDL除了对胆固醇流出有影响外，还对细胞过程有许多影响，并将说明这种脂蛋白的多能性。
