Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026

Inducing and Characterizing Vesicular Steatosis in Differentiated HepaRG Cells
Published on: July 18, 2019
Gene expression modulation of rat liver cholesterol metabolism by oleoyl-estrone
Maria Del Mar Romero1, Montserrat Esteve1, Marià Alemany1
1CIBER, Fisiopatologia Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.
Objective:
Since oleoyl-estrone (OE) decreases circulating cholesterol in the rat, we analyzed the response to OE treatment of hepatic gene expressions related with cholesterol metabolism.
Methods:
Male overweight rats treated with oral OE (10 nmol/g daily) were compared with a pair-fed (PF) group and controls fed ad libitum. Serum parameters and liver lipid and cholesterol contents were measured. Total tissue RNA was used for real-time PCR analysis of the gene expression of enzymes and regulatory factors of liver cholesterol metabolism. Cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase and ABC transporter A1 protein levels were estimated by Western blot.
Results:
Pair-feeding and OE treatment reduced the expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA synthase. OE increased the expression of the LDL receptor. Cholesterol disposal, through bile acids synthesis, was increased in PF and more markedly in OE rats. Gene expressions of the ABC transporter A1 and apolipoproteins A1 and E were increased in OE rats. The expression of liver X receptor was lower in PF than in OE and controls.
Conclusion:
The rapid disappearance of circulating cholesterol elicited by OE is consequence of: (1) decreased mevalonate pathway activity, (2) a higher expression of the LDL-receptor, and (3) the activation of the oxidation of cholesterol to form bile acids as a consequence of the higher cholesterol concentrations found in liver, also affected by energy availability.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cholesterol: Significance and Regulation
Considering cholesterol and...
Cell Specific Gene Expression
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...

