Cellular cholesterol metabolism is a complex problem and in spite of tremendous progress remains incompletely understood. A great deal is known about the enzymes that synthesize cholesterol and about the processes that are involved in the uptake of cholesterol from the diet and how it is transported through the blood to be delivered to cells. The question of how cholesterol moves around within the cell however, remains largely unknown. The goal of this research is to determine if a protein called caveolin-1 is involved in this process. These studies are possible because the movements of caveolin within live cells can be monitored using a fluorescent tracer protein attached to the normal protein. Caveolin binds cholesterol and is known to travel within the cell to compartments where cholesterol is synthesized, used and stored. When completed these studies will determine the role of caveolin in cholesterol homeostasis.
Cells absolutely require cholesterol to survive and strive to maintain the level of intracellular cholesterol within tightly controlled parameters. Humans can either obtain their cholesterol from the diet or they can synthesize it de novo. Defects in the pathways that regulate the level of cholesterol have important consequences and contribute to many human diseases. It is necessary to determine what proteins are required for these intracellular cholesterol movements in order to understand how defects result in disease.
