. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Jan 16.

Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Nephrol. 2017 Nov 27;14(1):57–70. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2017.155

Table 1.

Classes of lipoproteins

Lipoprotein	Composition	Apolipoproteins and enzymes	Function in normal physiology
High-density lipoprotein (HDL)	• Apolipoproteins (45%) • Cholesterol (25%) • Triglycerides (30%)	• ApoA I, ApoA II, ApoC II, ApoC III, ApoE, ApoL I • CETP, LCAT	Reverse cholesterol transport from tissues to the liver
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)	• Apolipoproteins (25%) • Cholesterol (45%) • Triglycerides (30%)	ApoB-100	Major cholesterol carrier
Intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL)	Mostly triglycerides and some cholesterol	ApoB-100	Intermediate between LDL and VLDL
Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)	Mostly triglycerides	ApoB 100, ApoC II, ApoC III, ApoE	Major triglyceride carrier
Chylomicrons	• Apolipoproteins (2%) • Cholesterol (3%) • Triglycerides (93%)	ApoB 48, ApoC II, ApoC III, ApoE	Transport of dietary (exogenous) triglycerides to the systemic circulation and to adipose tissue and the liver

ApoA I, apolipoprotein A I; CETP, cholesteryl ester transfer protein; LCAT, lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase.