EDMONTON, ALBERTA: Scientists at the University of Alberta and McGill University have discovered a direct link between calcium and cholesterol, a discovery that could pave the way for new ways of treating high blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is a known risk factor for developing heart disease.
The researchers began the work after having their curiosity piqued while studying the role of a calcium-binding protein. They noticed an extreme rise of blood cholesterol concentration in mice when the protein was not present.
The research paper is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
UAlberta researcher Marek Michalak and graduate student Wen-An Wang, along with McGill researcher Luis Agellon, teamed up with geneticist Joohong Ahnn from Hanyang University in Korea to discover that this physiological link between calcium and cholesterol is also preserved in worms.
"(This link) wasn't a trivial observation of a tissue cultured in a dish, but something that actually happens in animals. There is a mechanism inside the cell that senses when there is not enough cholesterol present and turns on the machinery to make more,” said Michalak, a distinguished university professor in the department of biochemistry.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA: Scientists at the University of Alberta and McGill University have discovered a direct link between calcium and cholesterol, a discovery that could pave the way for new ways of treating high blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is a known risk factor for developing heart disease.
The researchers began the work after having their curiosity piqued while studying the role of a calcium-binding protein. They noticed an extreme rise of blood cholesterol concentration in mice when the protein was not present.
The research paper is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
UAlberta researcher Marek Michalak and graduate student Wen-An Wang, along with McGill researcher Luis Agellon, teamed up with geneticist Joohong Ahnn from Hanyang University in Korea to discover that this physiological link between calcium and cholesterol is also preserved in worms.
"(This link) wasn't a trivial observation of a tissue cultured in a dish, but something that actually happens in animals. There is a mechanism inside the cell that senses when there is not enough cholesterol present and turns on the machinery to make more,” said Michalak, a distinguished university professor in the department of biochemistry.
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