As the first agents targeting ANGPTL4 progress through clinical trials investigating their potential to lower triglyceride levels, Professor Sander Kersten (Cornell University, New York, USA) considers the role of ANGPTL4 in lipid metabolism, its mechanism of action, and latest data supporting the growing interest in ANGPTL4 inhibition as an opportunity for reducing cardiovascular risk.
Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is a circulating protein which, like apoC3 and ANGPTL3, inhibits lipoprotein lipase (LPL) – an enzyme that hydrolyses triglyceride (TG) in muscle and adipose tissue.1 ANGPTL4 has a similar structure to ANGPTL3, but while ANGPTL3 is expressed only in the liver, ANGPTL4 is expressed in multiple tissues, including liver, heart, mammary gland and muscle.1
