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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Using Caco-2 Cells to Study Lipid Transport by the Intestine
Published on: August 20, 2015
Identification of binding proteins for cholesterol absorption inhibitors as components of the intestinal cholesterol
1Aventis Pharma Deutschland GmbH, Disease Group Metabolic Diseases, D-65926, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. werner.kramer@aventis.com
Abstract:
To identify protein components of the intestinal cholesterol transporter, rabbit small intestinal brush border membrane vesicles were submitted to photoaffinity labeling using photoreactive derivatives of 2-azetidinone cholesterol absorption inhibitors. An integral membrane protein of M(r) 145.3+/-7.5 kDa was specifically labeled in brush border membrane vesicles from rabbit jejunum and ileum. Its labeling was concentration-dependently inhibited by the presence of cholesterol absorption inhibitors whereas bile acids, D-glucose, fatty acids or cephalexin had no effect. The inhibitory potency of 2-azetidinones to inhibit photolabeling of the 145 kDa protein correlated with their in vivo activity to inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption. These results suggest that an integral membrane protein of M(r) 145 kDa is (a component of) the cholesterol absorption system in the brush border membrane of small intestinal enterocytes.
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