Atherosclerosis is the main killer in the west and therefore a major health challenge today. Total serum cholesterol and lipoprotein concentrations, used as clinical markers, fail to predict the majority of cases, especially between the risk scale extremes, due to the high complexity in lipoprotein structure and composition. In particular, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) plays a key role in atherosclerosis development, with LDL size being a parameter considered for determining the risk for cardiovascular diseases. Determining LDL size and structural parameters is challenging to address experimentally under physiological-like conditions. This article describes the biochemistry and ultrastructure of normolipidemic and hypertriglyceridemic LDL fractions and subfractions using small-angle X-ray scattering. Our results conclude that LDL particles of hypertriglyceridemic compared to healthy individuals 1) have lower LDL core melting temperature, 2) have lower cholesteryl ester ordering in their core, 3) are smaller, rounder and more spherical below melting temperature, and 4) their protein-containing shell is thinner above melting temperature.

动脉粥样硬化是西方的主要杀手，因此是当今的一项重大健康挑战。由于脂蛋白结构和组成的高度复杂性，用作临床标志物的血清总胆固醇和脂蛋白浓度无法预测大多数病例，尤其是在极端风险等级之间。特别是，低密度脂蛋白 (LDL) 在动脉粥样硬化的发展中起着关键作用，低密度脂蛋白大小是确定心血管疾病风险的一个参数。确定 LDL 大小和结构参数在类似生理条件下通过实验解决具有挑战性。本文描述了使用小角度 X 射线散射的正常血脂和高甘油三酯 LDL 组分和亚组分的生物化学和超微结构。