title: A cholesterol toggle switch.
abstract: Cholesterol levels in mammalian cells are controlled by an intricate mechanism in which the transcription factor SREBP plays a key role. Work in this issue (Radhakrishnan et al., 2008) employing direct measurement of endoplasmic reticulum cholesterol levels offers insights into the "switch" that controls this system with surprising precision.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla CA 92093, USA. rhampton@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Randolph Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Hampton
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D051779:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C102196:SREBP cleavage-activating protein; D051779:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins; D002784:Cholesterol