title: Why do worms need cholesterol?
abstract: Cholesterol is a structural component of animal membranes that influences fluidity, permeability and formation of lipid microdomains. It is also a precursor to signalling molecules, including mammalian steroid hormones and insect ecdysones. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans requires too little cholesterol for it to have a major role in membrane structure. Instead, its most probable signalling functions are to control molting and induce a specialized non-feeding larval stage, although no cholesterol-derived signalling molecule has yet been identified for these or any other functions.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, D-01307, Germany. kurzchalia@mpi-cbg.de
authors.forename: Teymuras V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Kurzchalia
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol