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Signalling and cholesterol metabolism
Author(s) -
Luu Winnie,
Sharpe Laura J.,
Stevenson Julian,
Brown Andrew J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.822.5
Subject(s) - abca1 , sterol regulatory element binding protein , liver x receptor , cholesterol , lipid metabolism , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , sterol , biochemistry , transporter , nuclear receptor , gene , transcription factor
Cholesterol is a vital lipid and performs diverse functions on a whole body and cellular level. However, excess cellular cholesterol is toxic, and thus, elegant mechanisms have evolved to tightly regulate this important lipid. Cellular homeostasis is governed by two major transcriptional factors, the sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) and liver X receptor (LXR). SREBP‐2 is up‐regulated when cholesterol levels are low, promoting genes that are involved in synthesis and uptake, whilst LXR up‐regulates efflux genes such as ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) . While there is a large body of work elucidating these cholesterol‐related pathways, less is known about the role of signalling in these processes. We found that Akt activates SREBP‐2 and its target genes, whilst tyrosine phosphatase inhibition down‐regulates gene expression of ABCA1 . These findings offer new insights into the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. The Brown lab is funded by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council and National Heart Foundation of Australia.