This proposal is to request support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Triglycerides and Triglyceride- Rich Particles in Health and Disease, organized by Robert H. Eckel, Ira J. Goldberg and Ruth McPherson, which will be held in Big Sky, Montana from January 9 - 14, 2010. Triglycerides are important storage molecules that play important roles in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, insulin action, energy balance, and atherosclerosis. The purpose of this meeting will be to critically examine the broad spectrum of triglyceride biology from the molecular biology of triglyceride biosynthesis in the liver and intestine to lipoprotein assembly and secretion to lipid fuel partitioning to adipose tissue, muscle and the liver. A discussion of the regulation of free fatty acid flux from adipose tissue to the liver by insulin and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines will precede a detailed coverage of chylomicron and VLDL transport, intravascular lipolysis and tissue-specific lipid partitioning. A transition to the science and medicine of triglycerides will then occur with expected updates on the understanding of the genetic basis of disorders of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis that relate specifically to circulating triglyceride-rich particles. The clinical relevance of hypertriglyceridemia, new insights into the mechanisms of pharmacological treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, and clinical trial evidence pro and con that triglyceride lowering reduces cardiovascular disease risk will follow. The meeting should attract basic, clinical, and population scientists from academia and industry, and will deal with the many issues that remain unclear or controversial surrounding triglycerides and triglyceride rich particles in health and disease.
Research suggests that triglycerides are a cause of greater coronary artery disease;however, significant questions remain as to whether or not reducing triglyceride levels is protective. Moreover, the data relating the most severe forms of hypertriglyceridemia to development of atherosclerosis are limited. This Keystone Symposia meeting on Triglycerides and Triglyceride-Rich Particles in Health and Disease will assemble leading scientists to discuss 1) the clinical science on causes and treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, and 2) how triglycerides are regulated and affect biology in animals and cells.
