front |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 |17 |18 |19 |20 |21 |22 |23 |24 |25 |26 |27 |28 |29 |30 |31 |32 |33 |34 |35 |36 |37 |38 |39 |40 |41 |42 |43 |44 |45 |46 |47 |48 |49 |50 |review

Free cholesterol and lecithin (phospholipids) are transferred from cell membranes to pre B-HDL to form Discoidal HDL. Via lymph this HDL enters the plasma. Through the action of LCAT (lecithin:cholesterol Acyl Transferase) the Discoidal HDL becomes spherical and cholesterol is esterified. About 1/3 of the cholesterol present in HDL is moved to B-100 containing lipoproteins (IDL/LDL/VLDL) in exchange for TG (2). Cholesterol ester transfer protein mediates this transfer. The majority of the HDL/cholesterol is internalized by liver and to a lesser extent by adrenal and gonadal cells via the SR-BI scavenger protein for use in bile acid and steroid hormone synthesis.