Intracellular cholesterol transporter StarD4 binds free cholesterol and increases cholesteryl ester formation

Intracellular cholesterol transporter StarD4 binds free cholesterol and increases cholesteryl ester formation.

StarD4 protein is a member of the StarD4 subfamily of steroidogenic acute regulatory-related lipid transfer (START) domain proteins that includes StarD5 and StarD6, proteins whose functions remain poorly defined. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize StarD4's sterol binding and to determine in a hepatocyte culture model its sterol transport capabilities. Utilizing purified...

Macrophage Cholesterol Homeostasis and Atherogenesis: Critical Role of Intracellular Cholesteryl Ester Hydrolysis

Chlorpromazine inhibits arterial ACAT and reduces arterial cholesterol and cholesteryl ester accumulation in cholesterol-fed rabbits.

Rabbits were fed an atherogenic diet concurrently with chlorpromazine for 2 weeks (10 mg/kg/day in the diet) or 12 weeks (20 mg/kg/day given orally in a single capsule). After 2 weeks, arterial acyl CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) activity tended to be reduced by chlorpromazine treatment with no affect on net arterial cholesterol. After 12 weeks of treatment, arterial ACAT activity was ...

Hepatic overexpression of cholesteryl ester hydrolase enhances cholesterol elimination and in vivo reverse cholesterol transport.

Neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase (CEH)-mediated hydrolysis of cellular cholesteryl esters (CEs) is required not only to generate free cholesterol (FC) for efflux from macrophages but also to release FC from lipoprotein-delivered CE in the liver for bile acid synthesis or direct secretion into the bile. We hypothesized that hepatic expression of CEH would regulate the hydrolysis of lipoprotei...

Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Expressed in Lecithin Cholesterol Acyltransferase

Cheng-ai Wu, Maki Tsujita, Kuniko Okumura-Noji, Shinichi Usui, Hajime Kakuuchi, Mitsuyo Deficient Mice − Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Expressed in Lecithin Cholesterol Acyltransferase Print ISSN: 1079-5642. Online ISSN: 1524-4636 Copyright © 2002 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 A...