| First Author | Altmann SW | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Science | Volume | 303 |
| Issue | 5661 | Pages | 1201-4 |
| PubMed ID | 14976318 | Mgi Jnum | J:89712 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3041314 | Doi | 10.1126/science.1093131 |
| Citation | Altmann SW, et al. (2004) Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 protein is critical for intestinal cholesterol absorption. Science 303(5661):1201-4 |
| abstractText | Dietary cholesterol consumption and intestinal cholesterol absorption contribute to plasma cholesterol levels, a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The molecular mechanism of sterol uptake from the lumen of the small intestine is poorly defined. We show that Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1(NPC1L1) protein plays a critical role in the absorption of intestinal cholesterol. NPC1L1 expression is enriched in the small intestine and is in the brush border membrane of enterocytes. Although otherwise phenotypically normal, NPC1L1-deficient mice exhibit a substantial reduction in absorbed cholesterol, which is unaffected by dietary supplementation of bile acids. Ezetimibe, a drug that inhibits cholesterol absorption, had no effect in NPC1L1 knockout mice, suggesting that NPC1L1 resides in an ezetimibe-sensitive pathway responsible for intestinal cholesterol absorption. |
