The mechanism of lipid-binding by plasma lipoproteins

In this article, we review the current state of knowledge about the structure of human plasma high density lipoproteins. Recent advances in this field, including amino acid sequencing and lipid-binding studies, suggest that the plasma lipoproteins have specific sites with special structural features that account for their ability to bind and transport lipid. A hypothesis which describes the structure of these lipid-binding sites and their interaction with lipid is presented.