ABSTRACT
In contrast to surface lipoprotein components that can spontaneously skip from one lipoprotein particle to another, the highly hydrophobic core neutral lipids, i.e., cholesteryl esters and triglycerides, cannot exchange through a simple aqueous diffusion process. Nevertheless, the transfer of neutral lipids between lipoprotein particles does occur in plasma of many species, and this is due to the activity of the plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). Human CETP is now well identified and characterised, and studies of the last twenty years demonstrated that it can markedly influence the quantity and quality of plasma lipoproteins. However, the consequences of the CETP-mediated lipid transfer reactions on the atherosclerotic process paradoxically remain a matter of controversy, probably reflecting the complexity of CETP activity in vivo. After a brief overview of CETP structure and function, that have been extensively reviewed in recent articles (Barter and Rye, 1994; Lagrost, 1994 and 1997; Melchior and Marotti, 1995; Tall, 1995; Yamashita et al., 1997), this chapter will mainly focus on the current state of knowledge concerning the role of CETP in lipoprotein metabolism and the consequences of CETP activity in terms of atherogenesis.
