New clues to cholesterol control
Updated on 07 July 2009
Scientists have uncovered 20 "cholesterol control" genes that could help point to important new risk factors for heart disease.
The researchers looked for genes with similar patterns of behaviour to those already known to be involved in cholesterol regulation.
They then tested the activity of the 100 most promising candidates with a scientific technique called RNA interference (RNAi).
The technique uses tiny bits of the genetic molecule RNA to block the protein-making "instructions" issued by genes. In this way, the function of genes can be assessed by effectively switching them off.
The strategy identified 20 genes described as "immediately relevant" for maintaining cellular levels of cholesterol.
Some them are thought to influence levels of low-density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, in the blood, a major heart disease risk factor.
Study leader Dr Heiko Runz, from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, said: "High cholesterol in the blood is considered to be responsible for excess cardiovascular morbidity (illness) and mortality.
"Blood cholesterol levels are controlled by cholesterol in cells. Therefore, some of the genes identified by us as regulators of cellular cholesterol in future studies might turn out to be disease genes that contribute to hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol) in some cases."
The research is reported in the journal Cell Metabolism.
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