Leukocytosis is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk in humans and develops in hypercholesterolemic atherosclerotic animal models. Leukocytosis is associated with the proliferation of hematopoietic stem and multipotential progenitor cells (HSPCs) in mice with deficiencies of the cholesterol efflux-promoting ABC transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 in BM cells. Here, we have determined ...

BACKGROUND The nuclear receptor liver X receptor (LXR) has two isoforms: LXRα and LXRβ. LXR activation promotes cholesterol efflux in macrophages, but the relative importance of each LXR isoform in mediating cholesterol efflux remains elusive. METHODS We evaluated the ability of different doses of LXRs agonist T0901317 to affect cholesterol efflux in human macrophages and its relationship wit...

RATIONALE High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a heterogeneous population of particles. Differences in the capacities of HDL subfractions to remove cellular cholesterol may explain variable correlations between HDL-cholesterol and cardiovascular risk and inform future targets for HDL-related therapies. The ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) facilitates cholesterol efflux to lipid-free apo...

ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1), and macrophage scavenger receptor, cluster of differentiation (CD)36, function as key mediators of cholesterol efflux and influx from macrophages. In addition, they are associated with foam cell formation and the development of atherosclerosis (AS). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of extracellular signal-re...

Increased circulating levels of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major protein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), by genetic manipulation or infusion, protects against melanoma growth and metastasis. Herein, we explored potential roles in melanoma tumorigenesis for host scavenger receptor class B, type 1 (SR-B1), and ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1), all mediators of ...

Mitochondrial sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1) catalyzes oxidative cleavage of the sterol side chain in the bile acid biosynthetic pathway in the liver and 27-hydroxylation of cholesterol in most tissues. Recent studies suggest that 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-HOC) activates liver orphan receptor alpha (LXRalpha) and induces the cholesterol efflux transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 in macrophages. The s...

Recent studies suggest that retinoids may be effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, although exposure to an excess of retinoids during gestation causes teratogenesis. Cholesterol is essential for brain development, but high levels of cholesterol have been associated with Alzheimer's disease. We hypothesized that retinoic acid may affect cholesterol homeostasis in rat astrocytes, whi...

BACKGROUND Chronic renal failure (CRF) causes oxidative stress, inflammation, oxidation of lipoproteins, impaired maturation of HDL and accelerated atherosclerosis. Uptake of oxidized lipoproteins by macrophages via scavenger receptors (scavenger receptor class A type I--SR-AI, and lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor--LOX-1) leads to foam cell formation and atherosclerosis. HDL mitigates atherosc...

INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular diseases are positively correlated with periodontal disease. However, the molecular mechanisms linking atherosclerosis and periodontal infection are not clear. This study aimed to determine whether Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (Pg-LPS) altered the expression of genes regulating cholesterol metabolism in macrophages in the presence of low-density lipopr...