CELL BIOLOGY: Scavenging Cholesterol

Cholesterol: An evergreen molecule in biology

Cholesterol, an essential component of higher eukaryotic membranes, was discovered more than two centuries ago. The development and progress of cholesterol research in the last 200 years has been truly fascinating, with elements of surprise, serendipity and intrigue. In this review, we trace this journey the way we see it, and follow it up with the role of membrane cholesterol in crucial areas ...

Cholesterol and the Biology of Alzheimer's Disease

Recent results implicating cholesterol metabolism in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) bring cholesterol to the forefront of AD research. Research from genetics, epidemiology, and cell biology all converge, suggesting that cholesterol plays a central role in the biology of amyloid precursor protein and the toxic peptide generated by its cleavage, beta-amyloid (Abeta). The ability ...

A review of Biology and clinical use of Mesenchymal stem cell: an immune -modulator progenitor cell

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which also called mesenchymal stromal cells, are multipotent stem cell. Human MSCs typically are positive for the surface markers CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD106, and also negative for hematopoietic markers CD34 and CD45.These cells can be isolated from postnatal bone marrow, adipose tissue, placenta, and scalp tissue, as well as from various fetal tissues. ...

Tracking cell cholesterol with cholesterol oxidase.

Sterols are ubiquitous and essential constituents of all eukaryotic cells, found either esterified and stored in droplet form (l), or unesterified and integrated into bilayers (2) . Sterols not only play a major structural role in membranes, but serve as precursors for steroid hormones and bile acids (3). The distribution of cholesterol within the cell and how it is apportioned properly are not...

Cell biology.