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An ancient cellular pathway called autophagy or "self-digestion"that clears accumulated dysfunctional molecules from cells, alsomobilizes and exports cholesterol and may provide an entirely new target for drugs to "unfurarteries" or reverse atherosclerosis, the main cause of heart attack and stroke , according to research led by the University of Ottawa HeartInstitute (UOHI) in Canada. Lead investigator Dr Yves Marcel, Director of the HDL BiologyLaboratory, UOHI, and colleagues from UOHI and Columbia Universityin New York, USA, found that autophagy, a process which developedin single-cell organisms and has remained preserved duringevolution, engulfs and digests cholesterol that has accumulated inartery walls. In a statement released yesterday, 8 September, Marcel told thepress: "The finding that autophagy also functions to digest and liberatecholesterol from cells and the fact that we know this pathway isregulated offers hope for the development of new drugs that couldactivate export of cholesterol the walls of arteries." Cholesterol is an important and necessary molecule in mammals whereit produces hormones and cell membranes and is carried around thebody in the blood. However, it also accumulates in the walls ofarteries, causing them to "fur up" and turn into atherosclerosis,where arteries get narrower and narrower, eventually causingblockages and reduced blood flow to the heart which often resultsin heart attacks and strokes. Co-researcher Mireille Ouimet, a major contributor to the work,said: "There is an urgent need to understand how cholesterol accumulationin arteries can be reversed." The researchers have discovered that cholesterol accumulationitself triggers autophagy, causing cholesterol to be released andsent back to the liver, where it is broken down and removed fromthe body. Marcel suggests that perhaps some people with coronary artery disease (CAD) aren't able to clear cholesterol in their arteries by theautophagy pathway. One route for new drugs could be to re-activatethis pathway. The researchers published details of their work earlier this yearin the journal Cell Metabolism. Written by Catharine Paddock PhD Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Disco Laser Lighting , China Full Color Laser Projector, and more. For more , please visit Laser Lighting Effects today!
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