A new study sheds light on how dietary cholesterol is absorbed by the body.
Novel Way of Cholesterol Absorption
According to scientists from the University of California Los Angeles, a new step in dietary cholesterol absorption has been identified. Such findings could help with the development of new therapies for treating high cholesterol levels.
Prior to entering the bloodstream, cholesterol must first be processed from the consumed food. This is done by the cells in the intestine's inner walls. Such mechanisms aid with determining the general blood cholesterol levels of a person, which could affect one's metabolic and cardiovascular health as time passes.
Scientists have been particularly concerned with the process regarding how free cholesterol is drawn and captured into the cell. This is done by an enzyme known as NPC1L1. It then moves through a network of cells called the endoplasmic reticulum. Finally, it is converted and ready to go into the bloodstream. This is done by a certain enzyme through a process known as esterification.
Up until this point, the picture of this process has remained incomplete. Dr. Peter Tontonoz, a pathology and laboratory medicine professor of UCLA and the study's lead author, explains how cholesterol that moves through NPC1L1 to enter the cell reaches the body's endoplasmic reticulum for cholesterol synthesis regulation and esterification has remained a mystery for a long time.
Researchers were able to identify a class of proteins called Asters, specifically Aster-B as well as Aster-C. These Asters take charge of the step in the middle that pertains to obtaining cholesterol from the cell's exterior right into the endoplasmic reticulum.
Dr. Bradley Serwer, the chief medical officer at VitalSolution and an interventional cardiologist, explains that the process is quite complex and covers several unknown steps. However, the study was able to shed light on this intricate process.
Dr. Serwer notes that when the Aster pathway is understood, identifying better targets to hamper the process would be made possible. Moving forward, the next step would be to use the findings for drug development.
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High Cholesterol Treatments
PCSK9 inhibitors and statins are two of the most effective and popular medications for treating high cholesterol. Both of them operate by decreasing bad LDL cholesterol levels within the bloodstreams.
They both have different ways of achieving this. Statins work by reducing the LDL that the liver produces. On the other hand, PCSK9 inhibitors function by assisting the liver with taking LDL away from the bloodstream.
Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, the medical director at the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center and an interventional cardiologist who did not participate in the study, explains that the mechanism of cholesterol absorption discovered in the study offers a new medication target for controlling the quantity of absorbed cholesterol. Dr. Chen adds that it is still unclear if these mechanisms could offer a clinically significant impact on cardiovascular results. The doctor notes that it is not very clear if controlling the absorption and intake of dietary cholesterol could lower heart disease risk.
Nevertheless, experts believe that there are reasons to consider how aiming for these Aster proteins could show some potential benefits. However, the jury remains out until the development and thorough and safe testing of new drugs.
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