Knockout of the cholesterol 24-hydroxylase gene in mice reveals a brain-specific mechanism of cholesterol turnover
EG Lund, C Xie, T Kotti, SD Turley, JM Dietschy… - Journal of Biological …, 2003 - ASBMB
Most cholesterol turnover takes place in the liver and involves the conversion of cholesterol
into soluble and readily excreted bile acids. The synthesis of bile acids is limited to the liver,
but several enzymes in the bile acid biosynthetic pathway are expressed in extra-hepatic
tissues and there also may contribute to cholesterol turnover. An example of the latter type of
enzyme is cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, a cytochrome P450 (CYP46A1) that is expressed at
100-fold higher levels in the brain than in the liver. Cholesterol 24-hydroxylase catalyzes the …
into soluble and readily excreted bile acids. The synthesis of bile acids is limited to the liver,
but several enzymes in the bile acid biosynthetic pathway are expressed in extra-hepatic
tissues and there also may contribute to cholesterol turnover. An example of the latter type of
enzyme is cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, a cytochrome P450 (CYP46A1) that is expressed at
100-fold higher levels in the brain than in the liver. Cholesterol 24-hydroxylase catalyzes the …
