Hepatic lipase (HL) is a lipolytic enzyme, synthesized by hepatocytes and found localized at the surface of liver sinusoid capillaries.
In humans, the enzyme is mostly bound onto heparan-sulfate proteoglycans at the surface of hepatocytes and also of sinusoid endothelial cells.
HL shares a number of functional domains with lipoprotein lipase and with other members of the lipase gene family. It is a secreted glycoprotein, and remodelling of the N-linked oligosaccharides appears to be crucial for the secretion process, rather than for the acquisition of the catalytic activity. HL is also present in adrenals and ovaries, where it might promote delivery of lipoprotein cholesterol for steroidogenesis.
