School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia.
IUBMB Life. 2013 Aug;65(8):675-84. doi: 10.1002/iub.1182. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
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. The regulation of cholesterol homeostasis is an area of intense research, and the role that signalling plays is gradually becoming more widely recognised. Cholesterol homeostasis is achieved through intricate mechanisms involving synthesis, uptake, and efflux. Although there is a large body of work elucidating these cholesterol-related pathways, less is known about the role of signalling in these processes. Here, we discuss the variety of ways that signalling impacts on these modes and levels of cholesterol homeostasis, including transcriptional regulation. Most work thus far has investigated the role of kinases in cholesterol efflux (especially on ATP-binding cassette transporter A1, ABCA1), and therefore constitutes a major focus of this review. We also indicate further avenues to explore in the area of signalling in cellular cholesterol homeostasis.
胆固醇是一种重要的脂质,在全身和细胞水平上发挥着多种功能。然而,过量的细胞胆固醇是有毒的,因此,已经进化出了优雅的机制来严格调节这种重要的脂质。胆固醇稳态的调节是一个研究热点,信号在其中所起的作用逐渐得到更广泛的认可。胆固醇稳态是通过涉及合成、摄取和外排的复杂机制来实现的。尽管有大量的工作阐明了这些与胆固醇相关的途径,但关于信号在这些过程中的作用知之甚少。在这里,我们讨论了信号影响这些胆固醇稳态模式和水平的多种方式,包括转录调控。到目前为止,大多数研究都集中在激酶在胆固醇外排中的作用(特别是在 ATP 结合盒转运体 A1,ABCA1 上),因此这是本综述的主要重点。我们还指出了在细胞胆固醇稳态的信号领域进一步探索的途径。