What is the primary function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in cholesterol transport?
Explanation
HDL is often called 'good cholesterol' because it mediates reverse cholesterol transport, a process where it retrieves excess cholesterol from peripheral tissues, including from developing atherosclerotic plaques, and carries it back to the liver for excretion.
Other questions
What is the irreversible process that commits acetyl-CoA to fatty acid synthesis, and what enzyme catalyzes it?
In the mammalian fatty acid synthase I (FAS I) system, what is the role of the acyl carrier protein (ACP)?
What is the net equation for the synthesis of one molecule of palmitate from 8 molecules of acetyl-CoA?
In nonphotosynthetic eukaryotes, how is acetyl-CoA, the precursor for fatty acid synthesis, transported from the mitochondria to the cytosol?
What is the primary mechanism by which citrate regulates fatty acid synthesis in vertebrates?
How do mammals synthesize the monounsaturated fatty acid oleate, 18:1(delta9)?
Which class of molecules, derived from 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids, are considered short-range signaling molecules that mediate inflammation, pain, and fever?
What is the common metabolic precursor for the synthesis of both triacylglycerols and glycerophospholipids in animal tissues?
How does insulin promote the conversion of carbohydrate to triacylglycerols?
What is the primary role of the triacylglycerol cycle that operates between adipose tissue and the liver, especially during fasting?
What is the main source of glycerol 3-phosphate for triacylglycerol synthesis in adipose tissue, especially during fasting?
In eukaryotic cells, where does the synthesis of cardiolipin and phosphatidylinositol primarily occur?
What is the activated intermediate used for the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol and cardiolipin in eukaryotes?
What are the four main stages of cholesterol biosynthesis from acetyl-CoA?
What is the energetic cost, in terms of ATP molecules, to synthesize one molecule of squalene from acetyl-CoA?
Which enzyme is the major point of regulation in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and is the target of statin drugs?
What is the function of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)?
In the context of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), what is the primary defect that leads to very high blood levels of cholesterol?
How do sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) regulate cholesterol synthesis in response to low cellular sterol levels?
What is the common intermediate that is condensed to form porphobilinogen in the synthesis of heme?
What is the role of ferrochelatase in heme synthesis?
In the degradation of heme, what is the immediate green-colored precursor to the yellow-colored bilirubin?
What is the function of the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), also known as prostaglandin H2 synthase?
What is the biochemical basis for the different physiological roles of the COX-1 and COX-2 isozymes?
What is the primary product of the mammalian fatty acid synthase I (FAS I) system?
In eukaryotes, the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine can occur through the Kennedy pathway. What is the activated intermediate that condenses with diacylglycerol in this pathway?
In sphingolipid synthesis, what are the initial two reactants that condense to form the backbone of sphinganine?
Which of the following molecules serves as the activated donor of the phosphocholine head group in the synthesis of sphingomyelin in animals?
What is the source of the oxygen atom that forms the ether linkage in plasmalogen synthesis?
Which molecule is formed from the head-to-head condensation of two molecules of farnesyl pyrophosphate?
What is the primary role of apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II)?
The drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) is a thiazolidinedione used to treat type 2 diabetes. What is its mechanism of action related to lipid metabolism?
In the four-step repeating sequence of fatty acid synthesis, what is the source of reducing power for the two reduction steps?
What is the function of the thioesterase (TE) domain of the mammalian fatty acid synthase I?
Mammals cannot synthesize linoleate (18:2) and alpha-linolenate (18:3). Why are these considered essential fatty acids?
What is the mechanism by which aspirin inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandins?
What are the two activated isoprene units that are central to cholesterol formation?
In the four-stage pathway of cholesterol synthesis, the conversion of which linear molecule to a four-ring structure is a key step?
What is the primary carrier of newly synthesized triacylglycerols and cholesterol from the liver to peripheral tissues in the endogenous pathway of lipid transport?
How is the uptake of LDL by peripheral cells primarily mediated?
What is the function of the enzyme lecithin-cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT)?
How does the transcription factor LXR (Liver X receptor) contribute to cholesterol homeostasis when cellular cholesterol levels are high?
In the condition atherosclerosis, what are foam cells?
What is the final linear precursor that undergoes cyclization to form the steroid nucleus in cholesterol biosynthesis?
Besides cholesterol, what other important biological molecules are derived from isopentenyl pyrophosphate?
What is the initial source of the two-carbon units that are added to a growing fatty acid chain during its synthesis?
What is the function of the genetic disease Niemann-Pick type-C (NPC)?
What is the role of the APOE4 allele in human health?
How many molecules of acetyl-CoA are required to form the six-carbon intermediate, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA), in the first stage of cholesterol biosynthesis?