CETP and atherosclerosis: Moreover, SNPs in the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) genes have been implicated in lipid abnormalities characteristic of MetS, where a decrease of the LPL is associated with hypertriglyceridemia and atherosclerosis, which, under normal conditions, hydrolyzes TG of chylomicrons and the very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), and CETP has the function of transferring cholesteryl esters from HDL to low density lipoprotein (LDL) as well as VLDL [9,10].