Biosynthesis and metabolism of lipoprotein (a).

Significant advances have been made over the past year toward understanding the pathways of lipoprotein (a) biosynthesis and metabolism. Transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms have been identified as important determinants of plasma lipoprotein (a) levels. Assembly of lipoprotein (a) has been shown to be an extracellular event that occurs on the hepatocyte cell surface. The development of lipoprotein (a) transgenic mice has provided a valuable model to study the metabolism of lipoprotein (a).