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Published Online
on September 14, 2006

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2006
Published online before print September 14, 2006, doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000245791.53245.ee
A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2006
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Submitted on July 10, 2006
Accepted on August 30, 2006

NPC1L1: Evolution From Pharmacological Target to Physiological Sterol Transporter

Murray W. Huff ; Rebecca L. Pollex ; and Robert A. Hegele *

From Vascular Biology Group, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hegele{at}robarts.ca.

Abstract--Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 protein (NPC1L1) was recently shown to be the molecular target of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor class of drugs, of which ezetimibe is the first widely used member. Since its discovery, NPC1L1 has also been shown to play a focal physiological role in intestinal absorption of sterols, including plant sterols and cholesterol. Evidence in support of this new metabolic pathway has been garnered not only through human, animal, and cell studies of function but also through the use of human genetics as an approach to study the association of NPC1L1 sequence variation with metabolic and drug-response phenotypes. The example of NPC1L1 shows how the elucidation of a pharmacological target can serve as a means to gain understanding of a key physiological pathway.


Key words: cholesterol • enterocyte • intestine • lipoproteins • low-density lipoprotein • pharmacogenetics • sterol




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