Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Cholesterol Efflux Assay
Published on: March 6, 2012
Retinoid regulated macrophage cholesterol efflux involves the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein
1Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA.
Abstract:
Elimination of excess cholesteryl esters from macrophage-derived foam cells is known to be a key process in limiting plaque stability and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. We have recently demonstrated that regulation of retinoid mediated cholesterol efflux is influenced by liver X receptor (LXR) signaling in mouse macrophages (Manna, P.R. et al., 2015, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 464:312-317). The data presented in this article evaluate the importance of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) in retinoid mediated macrophage cholesterol efflux. Overexpression of StAR in mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages increased the effects of both all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) and 9-cis RA on cholesterol efflux, suggesting StAR enhances the efficacy of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and/or retinoid X receptor (RXR) ligands. Additional data revealed that atRA enhances (Bu)2cAMP induced StAR and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 protein levels. Treatment of macrophages transfected with an LXRE reporter plasmid (pLXREx3-Luc) was found to induce the effects of RAR and RXR analogs on LXR activity.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Cholesterol: Significance and Regulation
Considering cholesterol and...
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
Lipid Catabolism
Lipid Absorption
These breakdown products bind with bile salts and lecithin to form micelles, which quickly pass between microvilli to come in close contact with the apical...
Lipid-Lowering Drugs: Statins and Miscellaneous Agents

