title: Non-vesicular sterol transport in cells.
abstract: Sterols such as cholesterol are important components of cellular membranes. They are not uniformly distributed among organelles and maintaining the proper distribution of sterols is critical for many cellular functions. Both vesicular and non-vesicular pathways move sterols between membranes and into and out of cells. There is growing evidence that a number of non-vesicular transport pathways operate in cells and, in the past few years, a number of proteins have been proposed to facilitate this transfer. Some are soluble sterol transfer proteins that may move sterol between membranes. Others are integral membranes proteins that mediate sterol efflux, uptake from cells, and perhaps intracellular sterol transfer as well. In most cases, the mechanisms and regulation of these proteins remains poorly understood. This review summarizes our current knowledge of these proteins and how they could contribute to intracellular sterol trafficking and distribution.
authors: Laboratory of Cell Biochemistry and Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. wprinz@helix.nih.gov
authors: William A
authors: WA
authors: Prinz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001693:Biological Transport, Active / Q000502:physiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D013261:Sterols / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D013261:Sterols; C030363:lipid transfer protein; D002784:Cholesterol
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