Aim To understand the features of lipoprotein lipase(LPL) and its role in the distinctive lipid metabolism in tree shrew,which is considered to be an animal protected from atherosclerosis.Methods cDNA clones of tree shrew lipoprotein lipase were isolated from adipose tissue mRNA,benefiting from SMART-RACE technique.The tissue distribution of lipoprotein lipase in tree shrew was identified by Real-Time PCR.The activities of lipoprotein lipase from tree shrew and human expressed in eukaryocytes were measured by Radioactive Substrate Emulsion method,respectively.Results The nucleotide sequence of tree shrew LPL covered 3 293 bp,including a 1 437 bp coding region,which encoded a 20 residues predicted signal pepetide and a 458 residues mature protein that was ten residues longer than that of human at N-terminus.The homology of amino acid sequences of lipoprotein lipase from tree shrew and other mammalian species was more than 90%,highly conserved in functional domains.LPL was expressed in many tissues in tree shrew,highly in cardiac muscle and adipose tissue.In despite of no expression in skeletal muscle,there was less-medium expression in liver,distinctly different from human LPL which was expressed in the contrary way in these two tissues.The tree shrew LPL activity was remarkably higher(7.67 times) than that of human LPL,consistent with lower triglyceride concentration in tree shrew plasma compared with human.Conclusion The higher LPL activity in tree shrew should greatly attribute to its lower plasma triglyceride levels.