UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN, USA. A new method has recently been developed which claims to have the ability of lowering blood cholesterol. In a study conducted by a group of researchers, they were able to restrain a gene that transports a protein which keeps the liver from removing cholesterol from the blood in mice. The liver cells’ capacity to remove plasma cholesterol from the blood was preserved by trapping the destructive protein so that it won’t harm the receptors that are responsible for removing cholesterol from the blood.
The process did not seem to affect the health of the mice that were involved in the study. Researchers also show that mice with an inactive SEC24A gene could normally develop. At the same time, their plasma cholesterol level also decreased by 45% since vesicles coming from liver cells were not able to produce and transport an important blood cholesterol level regulator which is called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9). PCSK9 is a secretory protein which is responsible for destroying the liver cells’ receptors of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or “bad cholesterol”, and keeps the cells from destroying the LDL.
Professor David Ginsburg leads a team of scientists at the University of Michigan’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Currently, there are initial studies being made about anti-PCSK9 therapies for humans which suggest that eliminating PCSK9 can lower cholesterol effectively. At the same time, it will also work with statins such as Lipitor to effectively lover cholesterol.
Without LDL receptors, it won’t be possible for liver cells to restrain LDLs from the bloodstream. Thus, protecting the LDLR from PCSK9 would enable the receptors to keep on removing cholesterol from the blood. Dr. Xiao-Wei Chen, who is also one of the authors of the study, says that the PCSK9 won’t make its way out of the cells to destroy the LDLR without SEC24A. That means it won’t be able to clear the cholesterol from the blood.
This strategy may not be as helpful as anti-PCSK9 therapy for treating high cholesterol right now. However, it could be an alternative approach that is yet to be proven effective on humans until it is conducted on real people.
| Invention | Inhibiting SEC24A or PCSK9 |
|---|---|
| Organization | University of Michigan, Michigan, USA |
| Researcher | Prof. David Ginsburg, Dr. Xiao-Wei Chen & Team |
| Field(s) | Anti-PCSK9 Therapy, Bad Cholesterol, SEC24A, Molecular Medicine and Genetics |
| Further Information | Sci-News |
