In molecular biology, the apolipophorin III family of proteins are a family of exchangeable

apolipoproteins Apolipoproteins are proteins that bind lipids (oil-soluble substances such as fats, cholesterol and fat soluble vitamins) to form lipoproteins. They transport lipids in blood, cerebrospinal fluid and lymph. The lipid components of lipoproteins a ...

. Exchangeable apolipoproteins constitute a functionally important

family of proteins A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be c ...

that play critical roles in lipid transport and lipoprotein metabolism. Apolipophorin III (apoLp-III) is a prototypical exchangeable apolipoprotein found in many insect species that functions in transport of diacylglycerol (DAG) from the fat body lipid storage depot to flight

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

s in the adult life stage. The special lipoproteins they form are called lipophorins.

References

{{InterPro content, IPR010009 Protein families