7 Detecting Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein in Plasma

Transport of triglycerides (TGs) and cholesteryl esters (CEs) in plasma can be viewed as taking place via two major groups of lipoproteins, the TG-rich lipoproteins (chylomicrons and VLDL), on one hand, and the cholesterol-rich lipoproteins (LDL and HDL), on the other. The metabolism of these groups is linked by exchange processes, catalyzed mainly by a plasma glycoprotein referred to as lipid transfer protein I (LTP-I) (1 ) or cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) (2 -5 ).