论文部分内容阅读
Acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) catalyzes the formation of cholesteryl estersfrom cholesterol and long-chain fatty-acyl-coenzyme A.At the single-cell level,ACAT serves as a regulatorof intracellular cholesterol homeostasis.In addition,ACAT supplies cholesteryl esters for lipoproteinassembly in the liver and small intestine.Under pathological conditions,the accumulation of cholesterylesters produced by ACAT in macrophages contributes to foam cell formation,a hallmark of the earlystage of atherosclerosis.Several reviews addressing various aspects of ACAT and ACAT inhibitors areavailable [1-8].This review briefly outlines the current knowledge on the biochemical properties of humanACATs,and then focuses on discussing the merit of ACAT as a drug target for pharmaceutical interventionsagainst atherosclerosis.
Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) catalyzes the formation of cholesteryl esters from cholesterol and long-chain fatty-acyl-coenzyme A. At the single-cell level, ACAT serves as a regulator of intracellular cholesterol homeostasis. for lipoprotein assembly in the liver and small intestine. Bunder pathological conditions, the accumulation of cholesterylesters produced by ACAT in macrophages contributes to foam cell formation, a hallmark of the early stage of atherosclerosis. Sevral reviews addressing various aspects of ACAT and ACAT inhibitors area available [1- 8] .This review briefly outlines the current knowledge on the biochemical properties of human ACATs, and then focuses on discussing the merit of ACAT as a drug target for pharmaceutical interventions in patients with atherosclerosis.