Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2012 Mar;69(6):915-30. doi: 10.1007/s00018-011-0857-5. Epub 2011 Oct 19.
Cholesterol homeostasis is among the most intensely regulated processes in biology. Since its isolation from gallstones at the time of the French Revolution, cholesterol has been extensively studied. Insufficient or excessive cellular cholesterol results in pathological processes including atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome. Mammalian cells obtain cholesterol from the circulation in the form of plasma lipoproteins or intracellularly, through the synthesis of cholesterol from acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). This process is tightly regulated at multiple levels. In this review, we provide an overview of the multiple mechanisms by which cellular cholesterol metabolism is regulated. We also discuss the recent advances in the post-transcriptional regulation of cholesterol homeostasis, including the role of small non-coding RNAs (microRNAs). These novel findings may open new avenues for the treatment of dyslipidemias and cardiovascular diseases.
胆固醇稳态是生物学中调控最严格的过程之一。自法国大革命时期从胆结石中分离出来以来,胆固醇就得到了广泛的研究。细胞内胆固醇不足或过量会导致动脉粥样硬化和代谢综合征等病理过程。哺乳动物细胞从循环中的血浆脂蛋白或细胞内通过乙酰辅酶 A(acetyl-CoA)合成胆固醇来获取胆固醇。这个过程在多个水平上受到严格的调控。在这篇综述中,我们概述了细胞胆固醇代谢受调控的多种机制。我们还讨论了胆固醇稳态的转录后调控的最新进展,包括小非编码 RNA(microRNAs)的作用。这些新发现可能为治疗血脂异常和心血管疾病开辟新途径。