On the mechanism of angiopoietin-like protein 8 for control of lipoprotein lipase activity.

Angiopoietin-like (ANGPTL) 8 is a secreted inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), a key enzyme in plasma triglyceride metabolism. It was previously reported that ANGPTL8 requires another member of the ANGPTL family, ANGPTL3, to act on lipoprotein lipase. ANGPTL3, much like ANGPTL4, is a physiologically relevant regulator of LPL activity, which causes irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. Here we show that ANGPTL8 can form complexes with either ANGPTL3 or ANGPTL4 when the proteins are refolded together from their denatured states. In contrast to the augmented inhibitory effect of the ANGPTL3/ANGPTL8 complex on LPL activity, the ANGPTL4/ANGPTL8 complex is less active compared to ANGPTL4 alone. In our experiments, all three members of the ANGPTL family use the same mechanism to inactivate LPL, which involves dissociation of active dimeric LPL to monomers. This inactivation can be counteracted by the presence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored high-density lipoprotein binding protein 1, the endothelial LPL transport protein previously known to protect LPL from spontaneous and ANGPTL4-catalyzed inactivation. Our data demonstrate that ANGPTL8 may function as an important metabolic switch, by forming complexes with ANGPTL3 or with ANGPTL4, in order to direct the flow of energy from triglycerides in blood according to the needs of the body.