MUSCLE PLAYS INTEGRAL PART IN REGULATING CHOLESTEROL
Muscle plays integral part in regulating cholesterol
Asian News International
The Hindustan Times
Saturday, November 30, 2002
Sydney, November 29 - Australian researchers have found
that muscles play an integral part in regulating
cholesterol absorption, thus making muscles a prime
target for future cholesterol-lowering {*filter*}.
The study of muscle tissue in mice, led by Dr George
Muscat of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at
Brisbane's University of Queensland, was published in
Biological Chemistry.
It was part of research funded by a US biotechnology
company, X-Ceptor Therapeutics, which is developing
lipid-lowering {*filter*}.
"The current scientific wisdom is that cholesterol
regulation depends on how much you take in via your diet,
how much your body makes itself, and how much is broken
down in the liver," Muscat was quoted by ABC Science as
saying. But there was circumstantial evidence that muscle
mass was also important, he said.
Previous research had shown that people with a lean body
mass who exercised regularly showed increased levels of
HDL-cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein). This is often
called 'good cholesterol' because it removes LDL-
cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or 'bad'
cholesterol) from the {*filter*} and deposits it in the liver,
where it is broken down.
"Since muscle accounts for 40 per cent of total body mass
and it burns fat and sugar for energy, it is very
important to study its role in cholesterol regulation,"
said Muscat.
Muscle cells contain receptors called LXRs (Liver X
Receptors), which are associated with cholesterol
clearance in the liver and intestine but, until now, no
one has yet established their functional role in muscle
tissue.
Scientists believe that LXRs act like locks which are
activated by a cholesterol key called hydroxycholesterol,
which in turn triggers genes that code for proteins
called ABC Transporters.
These in turn help transfer cholesterol to HDL.
Muscat said researchers at X-Ceptor Therapeutics had
found that {*filter*} which mimicked the cholesterol 'key'
boosted clearance of LDL in rats and reduced
atherosclerosis. But they were uncertain whether LXRs in
muscle were playing a significant role in this.
In order to find out, Muscat treated two groups of mice
with the drug 'key'. One group carried normal LXRs, while
the other group did not have LXRs. He then analysed
samples of each group's muscle tissue to check for
activation of ABC Transporter genes.
He found that ABC Transporter genes were turned on in the
normal mice, but not in the mice with no LXR receptors.
"This proves that muscle LXRs can be a target for
cholesterol lowering medication," he said.
As well as removing cholesterol from tissues, ABC
Transporters also remove excess cholesterol that comes
into the intestine via the diet, he said. "So a drug
based on this could also reduce cholesterol from a high
dietary intake as well," Muscat said.
However, the drug does have side effects - it raises the
level of triglycerides, which is not desirable. Muscat
said researchers at X-Ceptor Therapeutics were now trying
to work around this problem.
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