Oxysterol
Encyclopedia
Oxysterols are oxidized derivatives of cholesterol
, which are important in many biological processes, including cholesterol homeostasis
, sphingolipid
metabolism, platelet aggregation, apoptosis, and protein prenylation
.
Some examples of oxysterols include:
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
, which are important in many biological processes, including cholesterol homeostasis
Homeostasis
Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...
, sphingolipid
Sphingolipid
Sphingolipids are a class of lipids containing a backbone of sphingoid bases, a set of aliphatic amino alcohols that includes sphingosine. They were discovered in brain extracts in the 1870s and were named for the mythological Sphinx because of their enigmatic nature. These compounds play...
metabolism, platelet aggregation, apoptosis, and protein prenylation
Prenylation
Prenylation, or isoprenylation, or lipidation is the addition of hydrophobic molecules to a protein. It is usually assumed that prenyl groups facilitate attachment to cell membranes, similar to lipid anchor like the GPI anchor, though direct evidence is missing...
.
Some examples of oxysterols include: