Abetalipoproteinemia. New insights into lipoprotein assembly and vitamin E metabolism from a rare genetic disease.

Abetalipoproteinemia is a rare genetic disease that has provided important new insights into the physiology of lipoprotein assembly and vitamin E metabolism. Forty-two years after its initial description, a molecular etiology of ABL has been reported to be a deficiency of a microsomal transfer protein, thus suggesting that this protein plays a key role in lipoprotein particle assembly and secretion both in the intestine and in the liver. Furthermore, studies in patients with ABL have established the critical role of hepatic secretion of VLDL in the delivery of vitamin E to peripheral tissues and the essential role of vitamin E in the maintenance of normal physiological function of multiple tissues. The systematic investigation of this rare genetic disease has provided insights that have substantially enhanced our understanding of human physiology.