Mutations that affect membrane receptor for LDL are useful for studying normal receptor function

1982 ◽  
Vol 243 (1) ◽  
pp. E5-E14
Author(s):  
R. G. Anderson

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the major plasma cholesterol transport protein, is taken up by cells through a receptor-mediated process. After internalization through specialized segments of the cell surface called coated pits, the LDL is degraded in the lysosome and the released cholesterol is used by cells to meet various metabolic needs. The discovery of the LDL receptor and the studies of its function have provided new insights into both the biochemical aspects of cholesterol metabolism and the cell biology of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Of paramount importance in all of these studies has been the availability of human cells that express one or more allelic mutations that affect the function of the LDL receptor. These mutations have been valuable for assessing normal receptor function. Just as important, these mutations have been used as a reference point in the development of various cytochemical and biochemical techniques for studying receptor activity.

Life Sciences ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (20) ◽  
pp. 2355-2366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeru Murakami ◽  
Yukiko Kondo ◽  
Yoshihisa Toda ◽  
Hideaki Kitajima ◽  
Kazuya Kameo ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 329 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lahoucine IZEM ◽  
Eric RASSART ◽  
Lassana KAMATE ◽  
Louise FALSTRAULT ◽  
David RHAINDS ◽  
...  

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are taken up by both LDL receptor (LDLr)-dependent and -independent pathways. In order to determine the importance of these pathways in the activity of the various enzymes that are important in maintaining the cellular cholesterol level in hepatic cells, we created HepG2 cells expressing lower levels of LDLr. Thus HepG2 cells were transfected with a constitutive expression vector (pRc/CMV) containing a fragment of LDLr cDNA inserted in an antisense manner. Stable transformants were obtained that showed significant reductions of 42, 72 and 85% of LDLr protein levels compared with the control, as demonstrated by immunoblotting and confirmed by the LDL binding assay. The best inactivation was achieved with the construct containing the first 0.7 kb of LDLr cDNA. Incubating the different HepG2 cell subtypes with LDL showed similar association of apolipoprotein B (apo B) or cholesteryl esters from LDL with the cells, indicating that the LDLr deficiency did not significantly affect LDL uptake by the cell. However, apoB degradation was reduced significantly by 71-82% in the most LDLr-deficient HepG2 cells. We also found that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCoA red) activity is significantly increased by 32-35% in HepG2 cells expressing very low levels of LDLr that also demonstrate a significant decrease of 20% in acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) activity. However, these effects are moderate compared with those observed when cells were incubated in lipoprotein-depleted medium, where a > 900% increase in HMGCoA red activity and a loss of 60% of ACAT activity was observed. Thus, in HepG2 cells, different levels of LDLr affect LDL-apoB degradation, but have very little effect on LDL association, HMGCoA red and ACAT activities, revealing that LDLr is more important in the clearance of LDL-apoB than in HepG2 cell cholesterol homoeostasis, a role that should be attributable to both LDLr-dependent and -independent pathways.


1991 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-G. Lehoux ◽  
A. Lefebvre

ABSTRACT Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mRNA was found in both rat and hamster adrenals. Within 30 min after ACTH administration a significant increase in the levels of both LDL receptor and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) mRNAs was observed in rat adrenals; these levels remained increased for up to 240 min. The increase in the levels of LDL receptor and HMG-CoA reductase mRNAs produced by ACTH was reduced by co-administration of aminoglutethimide while, at the same time, the adrenal cholesterol content of rats treated with both aminoglutethimide and ACTH was significantly increased compared with that in groups treated with ACTH alone. Cycloheximide also induced increased levels of rat adrenal mRNAs for LDL receptor and HMG-CoA reductase, but this effect was not additive with that of ACTH. These results suggest that, in the rat, the short-term effect of ACTH on the levels of mRNAs for the LDL receptor and HMG-CoA reductase is similarly controlled and might be mediated through changes in the adrenal cholesterol content. In the hamster adrenal, however, no significant fluctuations were found in the level of LDL receptor mRNA, although a marked increase was found in the level of HMG-CoA reductase mRNA, 2 h after ACTH administration. This indicates that an important effect of ACTH on cholesterol metabolism in the hamster adrenal is at the level of HMG-CoA reductase. In the hamster, therefore, where the main source of cholesterol for the adrenal gland is de-novo synthesis, it seems that a complex mechanism is involved in the control of LDL receptor gene expression.


Author(s):  
Jaroslav A. Hubacek ◽  
Tommy Hyatt

AbstractMutations in a putative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor adaptor protein called


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 3777-3782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia M. S. Espirito Santo ◽  
Nuno M. M. Pires ◽  
Lianne S. M. Boesten ◽  
Gery Gerritsen ◽  
Niels Bovenschen ◽  
...  

Abstract The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor–related protein (LRP) has a well-established role in the hepatic removal of atherogenic apolipoprotein E (APOE)–rich remnant lipoproteins from plasma. In addition, LRP recognizes multiple distinct pro- and antiatherogenic ligands in vitro. Here, we investigated the role of hepatic LRP in atherogenesis independent of its role in removal of APOE-rich remnant lipoproteins. Mice that allow inducible inactivation of hepatic LRP were combined with LDL receptor and APOE double-deficient mice (MX1Cre+LRPflox/floxLDLR–/–APOE–/–). On an LDLR–/–APOE–/– background, hepatic LRP deficiency resulted in decreased plasma cholesterol and triglycerides (cholesterol: 17.1 ± 5.2 vs 23.4 ± 6.3 mM, P = .025; triglycerides: 1.1 ± 0.5 vs 2.2 ± 0.8 mM, P = .002, for MX1Cre+LRPflox/flox-LDLR–/–APOE–/– and control LRPflox/flox-LDLR–/–APOE–/– mice, respectively). Lower plasma cholesterol in MX1Cre+LRPflox/flox-LDLR–/–APOE–/– mice coincided with increased plasma lipoprotein lipase (71.2 ± 7.5 vs 19.1 ± 2.4 ng/ml, P = .002), coagulation factor VIII (4.4 ± 1.1 vs 1.9 ± 0.5 U/mL, P = .001), von Willebrand factor (2.8 ± 0.6 vs 1.4 ± 0.3 U/mL, P = .001), and tissue-type plasminogen activator (1.7 ± 0.7 vs 0.9 ± 0.5 ng/ml, P = .008) compared with controls. Strikingly, MX1Cre+LRPflox/floxLDLR–/–APOE–/– mice showed a 2-fold higher atherosclerotic lesion area compared with controls (408.5 ± 115.1 vs 219.1 ± 86.0 103μm2, P = .003). Our data indicate that hepatic LRP plays a clear protective role in atherogenesis independent of plasma cholesterol, possibly due to maintaining low levels of its proatherogenic ligands.


1997 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Hudig ◽  
O Bakker ◽  
W M Wiersinga

Treatment with amiodarone, a potent antiarrhythmic drug, is associated with a dose-dependent increase in plasma cholesterol resulting from a decreased number of liver low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. Similar changes occur in hypothyroidism, and it has been suggested that amiodarone acts via induction of a local 'hypothyroid-like' state in extrathyroidal tissues. The present study was designed to evaluate whether exogenous tri-iodothyronine (T3) could prevent the effects of amiodarone on LDL cholesterol. Rats were treated for 14 days with water, amiodarone 10 mg/100 g body weight (BW), or amiodarone and 2·5, 5 or 10 μg T3/100 g BW respectively. Relative to controls, amiodarone increased plasma LDL cholesterol by 31% and decreased liver LDL receptor mRNA by 56% and protein by 45%; liver T3 content was reduced by 21%. Addition of T3 to the treatment with amiodarone dose-dependently reversed all these changes, with a return to control values of plasma cholesterol and the number of liver LDL receptors, although LDL receptor mRNA remained slightly lower. Treatment of rats for 14 days with T3 alone (5 μg/100 g BW) decreased plasma LDL cholesterol by 19% and increased liver LDL receptor mRNA by 41%. In conclusion, T3 prevents the amiodarone-induced changes in plasma LDL cholesterol and liver LDL receptor gene expression. These findings suggest that the inhibitory effect of amiodarone on LDL receptor gene expression is mediated by T3-dependent pathways. Journal of Endocrinology (1997) 152, 413–421


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 775-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sampada Kallol ◽  
Christiane Albrecht

Cholesterol is a major nutrient required for fetal growth. It is also a precursor for the synthesis of steroid hormones and essential for the development and maturation of fetal organs. During pregnancy, the placenta controls the transport of cholesterol from the mother to the fetus and vice versa. Cholesterol originating from the maternal circulation has to cross two main membrane barriers to reach the fetal circulation: Firstly, cholesterol is acquired by the apical side of the syncytiotrophoblast (STB) from the maternal circulation as high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- or very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-cholesterol and secreted at the basal side facing the villous stroma. Secondly, from the villous stroma cholesterol is taken up by the endothelium of the fetal vasculature and transported to the fetal vessels. The proteins involved in the uptake of HDL-, LDL-, VLDL- or unesterified-cholesterol are scavenger receptor type B class 1 (SR-B1), cubulin, megalin, LDL receptor (LDLR) or Niemann–Pick-C1 (NPC1) which are localized at the apical and/or basal side of the STB or at the fetal endothelium. Through interaction with apolipoproteins (e.g. apoA1) cholesterol is effluxed either to the maternal or fetal circulation via the ATP-binding-cassette (ABC)-transporter A1 and ABCG1 localized at the apical/basal side of the STB or the endothelium. In this mini-review, we summarize the transport mechanisms of cholesterol across the human placenta, the expression and localization of proteins involved in the uptake and efflux of cholesterol, and the expression pattern of cholesterol transport proteins in pregnancy pathologies such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus and intrauterine growth retardation.


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