The interaction of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) with apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) plays a critical role in highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) maturation. We previously identified a highly solvent-exposed apoA-I loop domain (Leu 159 Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major protein component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), transports lipids and also serves as a protein scaffold for numerous HDL-associated protein interactions. The HDL particle is responsible for facilitating reverse cholesterol transport, a multistep process that removes cholesterol from peripheral tissues and ultimately from the body in feces. To promote its cholesterol carrier functions, apoA-I exists in multiple forms throughout the reverse cholesterol transport process. Initially, lipid-free or lipid-poor apoA-I becomes lipidated, generating the nascent HDL particle via the ATP-binding cassette transporter type 1 (ABCA1) 4 (1-4). Although capable of facilitating reverse cholesterol transport, subsequent maturation of the HDL particle into a cholesteryl ester-laden spherical particle substantially increases the capacity of the HDL particle to carry cholesterol cargo. Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is the primary enzyme responsible for catalyzing the maturation of nascent HDL into spherical HDL by catalyzing esterification of free cholesterol (1). Fielding and colleagues (5) first showed that apoA-I within nascent HDL stimulates LCAT activity (5-7). The mechanism by which LCAT facilitates HDL maturation at the structural level is still unknown.-