Lipid exchange dynamics between native lipoprotein particles and human cell mimics – Increasing the complexity of the cell membrane

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of death in westernized societies. Clinical indicators include not only the net lipoprotein concentration but also the ratio between the various lipoprotein particles such as low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Many different factors are thought to affect their structure and the way they interact with the various vessel wall components. Understanding the initial events leading to atherosclerosis is the main focus of our group. Using neutron scattering techniques we are currently unraveling the lipoprotein ability to unload their lipid cargo and how this relates to their structure/composition relationship by monitoring the changes that occur upon native lipoprotein interactions with mimics of the blood vessel wall.