20 Cholesterol Regulating Genes Identified

Filed in archive Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics on July 8, 2009

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Using RNA interference technology, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory have identified 20 genes involved in cholesterol metabolism, potentially leading to new treatments for heart disease and other cholesterol-related diseases.

Of the 20 genes the scientists identified as involved in regulating cholesterol levels and uptake, 12 were previously unknown. The remainder were known to have some link to lipid metabolism - how the body breaks down fat - including two genes that when mutated may cause heart disease, but which were only now shown to also play a part in bringing cholesterol into cells in the first place.

The scientists are now trying to discover exactly how the novel genes regulate cholesterol levels inside cells, as well as looking at patients to determine whether these genes (or alterations in them) do constitute risk factors, and investigating if and how they could be useful drug targets.

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