Their size is, in general, 25 to 35 nm in diameter, and they contain primarily a range of triglycerides and cholesterol esters.
They are cleared from the plasma into the liver by receptor-mediated endocytosis, or further degraded by hepatic lipase to form LDL particles.
[citation needed] VLDL is a large, triglyceride-rich lipoprotein secreted by the liver that transports triglyceride to adipose tissue and muscle.
Some of the IDL particles are rapidly taken up by the liver; others remain in circulation, where they undergo further triglyceride hydrolysis by hepatic lipase and are converted to LDL.
The multiple copies of ApoE allow IDL to bind to the LDL receptor with a very high affinity.