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Group members Jay Patankar Sascha Obrowsky Collaborators Dagmar Kratky Gert M. Kostner Grants
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Dr. Sanja Levak Group leader  sanja.levak@medunigraz.at |
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Center of Molecular Medicine Medical University of Graz Harrachgasse 21/III 8010 Graz, Austria
Phone: +43 (316) 380 4207
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ResearchCholesterol is an important constituent of cellular membranes and serves as a precursor in the formation of bile acids and steroid hormones. Excessive cholesterol, however, is cytotoxic and causes atherosclerotic lesion and gallstone formation. Therefore, a balance must be maintained between cholesterol absorption, excretion and endogenous cholesterol synthesis. In this regard, the liver and the small intestine play important roles.Intestinal cholesterol absorption is a main regulator of serum cholesterol homeostasis. The molecular mechanisms involved in cholesterol absorption are only party understood. Current experimental findings strongly argue for a protein-mediated process. The research activities of our laboratory focus on the effect of liver-X-receptor (LXR), a key regulator of cellular cholesterol homeostasis, on the expression of putative proteins involved in cholesterol absorption. By using cDNA micro arrays, two already known genes were identified as LXR target genes upon incubation of CaCo-2 cells with synthetic LXR agonist TO. This result was corroborated in murine mucosa cells when mice were fed with TO. The main aim of our project is to study the yet unknown role of these proteins in cholesterol absorption. Not only LXR but also some other transcriptional factors (GATA, HNF) are highly expressed in small intestine and might therefore play an important role in the regulation of cholesterol absorption. The effects of GATA and HNF on the transcriptional regulation of known and putative cholesterol transporters will be investigated in CaCo-2 cells by using promoter studies and gel-shift assays. | |||||
| Nov 11, 2007 dagmar.kratky@medunigraz.at HOME MedUni Graz |