ANIMALS TRANSPORT LIPIDS in an aqueous environment at concentrations up to one million times their solubility in water. They accomplish this task by surrounding water-insoluble lipids with amphipathic lipids and proteins to form plasma lipoproteins. A major part of lipid transport is to supply energy for muscle contraction and to deliver lipids to adipose tissue for storage. Disorders in lipoprotein metabolism are a major risk factor for premature coronary heart disease throughout the world. These disorders arise from dysfunction in apolipoproteins, particular enzymes, and lipid transfer proteins, and also secondary to disorders in carbohydrate metabolism.
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