Reassembly of low-density lipoproteins.

The methodologies described here for the selective and sequential reassembly of model LDL particles, although in many instances still in the developmental stages, will undoubtedly provide a basis on which further advances in LDL reassembly will be made. Reassembled LDL complexes of defined lipids and apoB provide well-defined model systems in which to study the molecular interactions and structural organization of LDL, including the lipid-lipid interactions in the particle core, the lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions which determine the surface organization and protein conformation, and the interactions between the core and surface components. These reassembled LDL complexes should serve as important models to study the delivery of isotopically labeled lipids with differing physical properties to cells in order to investigate the metabolic complexity of intracellular LDL catabolism and its relationship to positive cholesterol balance and atherogenesis.