Cholesterol is one of the main constituents of plasma membranes; thus, its supply is of utmost importance. This review covers the known mechanisms of cholesterol transfer from circulating lipoprotein particles to the plasma membrane, and vice versa. To achieve homeostasis, the human body utilizes cellular de novo synthesis and extracellular transport particles for supply of cholesterol and other lipids via the blood stream. These lipoprotein particles can be classified according to their density: chylomicrons, very low, low, and high-density lipoprotein (VLDL, LDL, and HDL, respectively). They deliver and receive their lipid loads, most importantly cholesterol, to and from cells by several redundant routes. Defects in one of these pathways (e.g., due to mutations in receptors) usually are not immediately fatal. Several redundant pathways, at least temporarily, compensate for the loss of one or more of them, but the defects trigger systemic diseases, such as atherosclerosis later on. Recently, intracellular membrane-membrane contact sites were shown to be involved in intracellular cholesterol transfer and the plasma membrane itself has been proposed to act as a binding site for lipoprotein-mediated cargo unloading.
Keywords: HDL; LDL; lipoprotein particles; non-esterified cholesterol; plasma membrane.