LXR Alpha: A New StAR In Balancing Cholesterols Levels In The Adrenal Gland

Main Category: Cholesterol
Article Date: 07 Jul 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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Cholesterol is the precursor to all steroid hormones, which control heart rate, blood pressure, and how the body utilizes food. Therefore a constant cholesterol supply must be available to the adrenal gland where such hormones are produced. Liver X receptors (LXRs) are known to limit the accumulation of excess cholesterol by regulating the expression of genes involved in cholesterol storage and passage out of the body. In a study appearing in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, David Mangelsdorf and colleagues from the University of Texas Southwestern now show that LXR alpha acts as a safety valve to limit the accumulation of free cholesterol in the adrenal glands of mice, which can be toxic at high levels. LXR alpha achieves this control by coordinately regulating the expression of genes involved in cholesterol efflux (ABCA1), storage (apoE, SREBP-1c), and metabolism to steroids (by the protein known as StAR).

In an accompanying commentary, Colin Jefcoate from University of Wisconsin Medical School discusses the findings of this study in the context of other known pathways of cholesterol transfer, and steroid synthesis in a variety of tissues.

TITLE: Liver X receptors regulate adrenal cholesterol balance

AUTHOR CONTACT:
David J. Mangelsdorf
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
E-mail: davo.mango@utsouthwestern.edu.

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=28400

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY

TITLE: Liver X receptor opens a new gateway to StAR and to steroid hormones

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Colin R. Jefcoate
University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
E-mail: Jefcoate@wisc.edu.

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=29160

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JCI table of contents: July 3, 2006

Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
Journal of Clinical Investigation

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