Cholesterol's ABCs

The message, so odd before, is now standard. Some cholesterol is good, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) have repeatedly been implicated in cardiovascular disease. When the ABC1 transporter was found to be associated in the HDL deficiency of patients with Tangier disease,1 scientists began developing models of cholesterol transport to the protective lipoproteins. But, no one had shown the genes involved in transporting cholesterol from arterial macrophages to HDL particles. While high hopes surrounding an HDL-elevating drug were bolstered by one of the Hot Papers featured here, trials in humans were halted prematurely due to higher risk of death in people taking the drug.

In 2004, Alan Tall's group at Columbia University identified the function of the ABCG1 transporter and clarified the role of large HDL particles in cholesterol efflux from foam cells,2 bolstering confidence in pharmaceutical activity around a specific class of HDL-raising drugs. Later that same ...