title: Biological activities of oxysterols.
abstract: Literature dealing with the biological activities of cholesterol autoxidation products and related oxysterols in vivo and in vitro published since the previous 1981 monograph is reviewed. Although several oxysterols are important cholesterol metabolites implicated in bile acids and steroid hormones biosynthesis, effects on cellular membranes and on specific enzyme systems as well as cytotoxic, atherogenic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic activities characterize oxysterols as a class. Circumstantial evidence implicates oxysterols of the human diet and those formed in vivo with human health disorders, but recent work also supports an hypothesis that some oxysterols be endogenous intracellular regulators of de novo sterol biosynthesis. The true physiological relevance, if any, of these matters has not been adduced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000139:chemically induced; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D006801:Humans; D007664:Ketosteroids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013261:Sterols / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007664:Ketosteroids; D013261:Sterols; D002784:Cholesterol