Shepherd J
Institute of Pathological Biochemistry, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland.
Drugs. 1994;47 Suppl 2:1-10. doi: 10.2165/00003495-199400472-00003.
The biological benefits of lipids as sources of energy and precursors of cell components have led to the evolution of a complex plasma lipoprotein transport system, through which gram quantities of cholesterol, triglyceride, and phospholipid pass each day. A wide variety of tissues make demands on this pool. The adrenal glands and gonads avidly assimilate lipoprotein cholesterol for the production of steroid hormones, and rapidly dividing intestinal villus cells take up the sterol for membrane synthesis. Metabolically active tissues such as skeletal muscle use plasma triglyceride for energy production, while in times of surfeit this lipid is directed into adipocytes for storage. Two organs, the liver and intestine, play a particularly important role in corporeal lipid metabolism, and together are responsible for the majority of lipoprotein synthesis and catabolism. In the plasma, lipid transport is regulated by specific apolipoproteins (apo), lipoprotein receptors, lipolytic enzymes and transfer proteins, which act in concert to maintain the balance of cholesterol and triglyceride homeostasis in tissues and plasma; their malfunction may cause or contribute to the development of dyslipidaemia.
脂质作为能量来源和细胞成分前体所具有的生物学益处，促使了复杂的血浆脂蛋白转运系统的进化，每天有克量级的胆固醇、甘油三酯和磷脂通过该系统。多种组织都对这个储备库有需求。肾上腺和性腺大量摄取脂蛋白胆固醇以用于合成类固醇激素，快速分裂的肠绒毛细胞摄取固醇用于膜的合成。代谢活跃的组织如骨骼肌利用血浆甘油三酯来产生能量，而在过剩时，这种脂质会被导向脂肪细胞进行储存。肝脏和肠道这两个器官在机体脂质代谢中发挥着特别重要的作用，它们共同负责大部分脂蛋白的合成和分解代谢。在血浆中，脂质转运由特定的载脂蛋白（apo）、脂蛋白受体、脂解酶和转运蛋白调节，它们协同作用以维持组织和血浆中胆固醇和甘油三酯稳态的平衡；它们的功能失调可能导致血脂异常或促使其发展。
