The roles of HDL and plasma triglyceride concentrations as risk factors for coronary heart disease have attracted increasing attention. One protein, apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV), is involved in the metabolism of both triglycerides and HDL. ApoA-IV has been linked with the hydrolysis of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and with the interconversion of HDL subfractions. ApoA-IV has also been suggested to participate in several stages of reverse cholesterol transport. Structural and functional alterations of apolipoproteins, caused by a variety of mutations, have been shown to influence lipoprotein metabolism in several ways. Uncertainty about the exact biochemical function of apoA-IV has made the use of genetic apoA-IV variants attractive in evaluating its physiological role.
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