Biopharmaceutical agents for use in reducing lipid content in cells

A biopharmaceutical agent including a 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor precursor/high affinity laminin receptor (LRP/LR) and/or a fragment thereof which, when administered to a target cell of a subject in need, can reduce a lipid content of the target cell and aid in the treatment and/or prevention of atherosclerosis, wherein the target cell is at least one selected from the group consisting of:

• endothelial cells of blood vessels and smooth muscles cells of blood vessels, and wherein the LRP/LR comprises a peptide/protein sequence listing as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 2, or a fragment thereof as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 4 or SEQ ID NO:
• 5.

A biopharmaceutical agent including a 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor precursor/high affinity laminin receptor (LRP/LR) and/or a fragment thereof which, when administered to a target cell of a subject in need, can reduce a lipid content of the target cell and aid in the treatment and/or prevention of insulin resistance and/or diabetes, wherein the target cell is at least one of the following group:

• pancreatic cells including alpha (α) cells, beta (β) cells, delta (δ), and gamma (γ) cells, and wherein the LRP/LR comprises a peptide/protein sequence listing as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or SEQ ID NO:
• 2, or a fragment thereof as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 4 or SEQ ID NO:
• 5.