Lipase, Endothelial (LIPG)

Endothelial lipase (EL) was initially cloned by both of these laboratories using entirely different strategies. Endothelial lipase was identified as a transcript that was upregulated in cultured rat umbilical vein endothelial cells undergoing tube formation, whereas the Rader group cloned endothelial lipase as a transcript that was upregulated in the rat macrophage-like cell line THP-1 exposed to oxidized LDL. Database searches revealed that endothelial lipase shows strong sequence similarity to lipoprotein lipase (44 percent identity) and hepatic lipase (41 percent identity), two well-characterized lipases that function at vascular endothelial surfaces. Critical motifs associated with lipase activity (GXSXG and the catalytic triad S169, D193, H274), and with heparin binding were strongly conserved.