title: Cholesterol homeostasis: How do cells sense sterol excess?
abstract: Cholesterol is vital in mammals, but toxic in excess. Consequently, elaborate molecular mechanisms have evolved to maintain this sterol within narrow limits. How cells sense excess cholesterol is an intriguing area of research. Cells sense cholesterol, and other related sterols such as oxysterols or cholesterol synthesis intermediates, and respond to changing levels through several elegant mechanisms of feedback regulation. Cholesterol sensing involves both direct binding of sterols to the homeostatic machinery located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and indirect effects elicited by sterol-dependent alteration of the physical properties of membranes. Here, we examine the mechanisms employed by cells to maintain cholesterol homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Vicky
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Sharpe
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Alexopoulos
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kunze
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Ngee Kiat
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.affiliation: National Center for Protein Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Dianfan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: aj.brown@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002477:Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: Cholesterol; Cholesterol sensing; Homeostasis; Membranes; Oxysterols