ANGPTL3, ANGPTL4, and ANGPTL8, are known to function as negative regulators of LPL activity in white adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue, and oxidative tissues (1-7). ANGPTL4, the most-studied family member, is expressed at various sites in the body (8). ANGPTL4 consists of an N-terminal coiled-coil domain (ccd) and a C-terminal, fibrinogen-like domain. The N-terminal ccd of ANGPTL4 inactivates LPL by promoting dissociation of the active LPL dimer into inactive monomers (9, 10). In this way, ANGPTL4 acts as a potent energy homeostasis switch causing reduced uptake of FAs from TG-rich lipoproteins in WAT during fasting (11,12). During physical activity or exercise, ANGPTL4 is upregulated in resting muscles, where it lowers LPL activity and thereby helps to direct FAs toward the contracting muscle tissue for energy production (13). In contrast to ANGPTL4, ANGPTL3 is mainly produced in the liver. It was previously demonstrated that the N-terminal ccd of ANGPTL3 reduces the activity of LPL in oxidative tissues in the fed state, thus directing the flow of lipoprotein-derived FAs to WAT for storage (14). In molar terms, ANGPTL3 is a relatively weak regulator of LPL in comparison to ANGPTL4 (10,15,16). Recent studies have shown, however, that the effect of ANGPTL3 on LPL is greatly enhanced by ANGPTL8 (15,17,18). ANGPTL8 is mostly produced in the liver and WAT and consists of a ccd, which is similar to those of ANGPTL3 and ANGPTL4, but ANGPTL8 is lacking a C-terminal, fibrinogen-like domain (6, 7). By itself, ANGPTL8 has no detectable effect on the activity of LPL. Reduction of LPL activity by ANGPTL8 occurs only in the presence of ANGPTL3 (15,18). It was recently demonstrated that ANGPTL8 needs to be coexpressed with ANGPTL3, by the same host cell, in order to have an effect on LPL activity (18).In this report, we show that recombinant ANGPTL8 produced in Escherichia coli has to be refolded together with Abstract Angiopoietin-like (ANGPTL) 8 is a secreted inhibitor of LPL, a key enzyme in plasma triglyceride metabolism. It was previously reported that ANGPTL8 requires another member of the ANGPTL family, ANGPTL3, to act on LPL. ANGPTL3, much like ANGPTL4, is a physiologically relevant regulator of LPL activity, which causes irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. Here, we show that ANGPTL8 can form complexes with either ANGPTL3 or ANGPTL4 when the proteins are refolded together from their denatured states. In contrast to the augmented inhibitory effect of the ANGPTL3/ ANGPTL8 complex on LPL activity, the ANGPTL4/ANGPTL8 complex is less active compared with ANGPTL4 alone. In our experiments, all three members of the ANGPTL family use the same mechanism to inactivate LPL, which involves dissociation of active dimeric LPL to monomers. This inactivation can be counteracted by the presence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored HDL binding protein 1, the endothelial LPL transport protein previously known to protect LPL from spontaneous and ANGPTL4-catalyzed inactivation. Our data demonstrate that ANGPTL8 may funct...