Scientists study a protein involved in controlling cholesterol levels
Americans who are concerned about lowering their cholesterol levels may buy Lipitor from Canadian internet pharmacies in order to stay healthy.
Americans who are concerned about lowering their cholesterol levels may buy Lipitor from Canadian internet pharmacies in order to stay healthy. Such established medications have long been proven effective. Researchers suggest that a newly discovered protein called IDOL serves as a powerful target for these drugs, according to a paper published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.
IDOL is responsible for transporting cholesterol from the blood into cells. The molecule also breaks down low-density lipoprotein receptors, preventing them from removing cholesterol out of the blood. Through these mechanisms, it plays an important role in controlling the metabolism of the compound.
"Cells lacking IDOL exhibit markedly elevated levels of the low-density lipoprotein receptor protein and increased rates of low-density lipoprotein uptake by the cells," said lead author Peter Tontonoz of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles.
He and his colleagues concluded that IDOL could be a target for drugs to lower cholesterol levels, but that future work is needed to confirm this. They explained that the next step will be to determine the importance of the protein in mice that lack it.
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