Oxysterol-related disorders

Abstract

Recent advances in oxysterol analysis and studies on their molecular targets indicate that oxysterols, enzymatic or non-enzymatic cholesterol derivatives, are active molecules involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases. This review describes and discusses the recent developments in several oxysterol-related disorders, including atherosclerosis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and breast and lung cancers. Unlike congenital abnormalities of oxysterol-metabolizing enzymes, such as cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis and hereditary spastic paraplegia type 5, it is often difficult to assess whether altered oxysterol levels in acquired diseases are the cause or the consequence of disease. In addition, oxysterols exert beneficial or deleterious effects on diseases depending on their structures. Despite these limitations, accumulated experimental evidence is beginning to clarify the impact of oxysterols on the pathophysiology of various diseases.