Lipoprotein(a): Silent killer or crystal ball?
Lipoproteins are made up of lipids and the proteins that transport lipids. Lipoproteins in the blood shuttle lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides from the intestine to tissues throughout the body.
Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), consists of cholesterol and two proteins, Apo-B 100 and Apo(a). High levels of Lp(a) accelerate the buildup of cholesterol on artery walls, increasing a person’s risk for acute coronary syndrome, or ACS, a blanket term for several diseases associated with sudden reduced blood flow to the heart. In the U.S., ACS affects 15.5 million people and is a leading cause of death.

at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston focuses on studying the drivers of ACS and finding diagnostic biomarkers to identify populations at risk for cardiovascular diseases. In a collaborative with Pawel Szulc’s lab at the University of Lyon published in the Journal of Lipid Research, postdoc Francesca Bartoli–Leonard and a team of researchers assessed whether a relationship exists between high levels of Lp(a) and ACS in older men.
“With the American Heart Association estimating a person has a heart attack every 41 seconds, it’s imperative we as scientists investigate how to predict these events in patients before they happen,” Bartoli–Leonard said.
The Lp(a) levels in the blood are determined by variations in the LPAgene locus. Hence even individuals with healthy diet and exercise habits may be at high risk for ACS if they have genetic variants that produce high Lp(a) levels.
“Unfortunately, the guidelines from the American Heart Association only suggest clinicians measure lipoprotein(a) in individuals with hypercholesterolemia,” Bartoli–Leonard said, “meaning there are large parts of the American population who may be at risk for lipoprotein(a)-driven cardiovascular disease who are simply unaware.”
Doctors manage ACS with apheresis, a filtering process that removes Lp(a) particles from the blood. No drugs are approved for reducing Lp(a) levels; however, some therapies are currently in clinical trials.
“Clinical treatment for cardiovascular disease can be costly,” Bartoli–Leonard said. “We wanted to find a marker that could be assessed once, and for a relatively low cost, that may help stratify which patients will have a coronary event.”
To determine risk, the team tracked Lp(a) in 755 men over age 60 who live in the same community, following their coronary events and overall health for up to eight years. The researchers report that participants with blood Lp(a) levels higher than 50 milligrams per deciliter had an increased incidence of ACS.
For, this investigation, only Caucasian males living in France were recruited in the study population. “However, these results are consistent with reports that included more diverse ethnic backgrounds and those assigned female at birth," the authors wrote in the paper.
The study provides further evidence that Lp(a) levels predict the likelihood of a coronary event independent of common risk factors such as smoking, body mass index and cholesterol levels.
“We hope that our work, alongside with the other studies, which also look at Lp(a) in the general population, encourage the health care providers to assess Lp(a) routinely in the clinic,” Bartoli–Leonard said.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles

Sweet secrets of sperm glycosylation
Scientists from Utrecht University uncover similar glycosylation patterns in sperm from bulls, boars and humans, distinct from those found in blood across species. These findings may improve IVF and farming techniques.

From the Journals: JLR
Promising therapeutic candidate for steatosis. Unique lipid profiles in glycogen storage disease. Microglial lactic acid mediates neuroinflammation. Read about these recent papers.

Meet Robert Helsley
The Journal of Lipid Research junior associate editor studies chronic liver disease and was the first in his family to attend college.

From the Journals: MCP
Protein acetylation helps plants adapt to light. Mapping protein locations in 3D tissues. Demystifying the glycan–protein interactome. Read about these recent papers.

Exploring life’s blueprint: Gene expression in development and evolution
Meet Julia Zeitlinger and David Arnosti — two co-chairs of the ASBMB’s 2025 meeting on gene expression, to be held June 26-29, in Kansas City, Missouri.

From the journals: JLR
Protein analysis of dopaminergic neurons. Predicting immunotherapy responses in lung cancer. ZASP: An efficient proteomics sample prep method. Read about papers on these topics recently published in ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú & Cellular Proteomics.