Endoplasmic reticulum quality control in lipoprotein metabolism

Abstract Lipids play a critical role in energy metabolism, and a suite of proteins is required to deliver lipids to tissues. Several of these proteins require an intricate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control (QC) system and unique secondary chaperones for folding. Key examples include apolipoprotein B (apoB), which is the primary scaffold for many lipoproteins, dimeric lipases, which hydrolyze triglycerides from circulating lipoproteins, and the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which clears cholesterol-rich lipoproteins from the circulation. ApoB requires specialized proteins for lipidation, dimeric lipases lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (HL) require a transmembrane maturation factor for secretion, and the LDLR requires several specialized, domain-specific chaperones. Deleterious mutations in these proteins or their chaperones may result in dyslipidemias, which are detrimental to human health. Here, we review the ER quality control systems that ensure secretion of apoB, LPL, HL, and LDLR with a focus on the specialized chaperones required by each protein.