Physiological Significance of Oxidized Cholesterols

Abstract

About 3,000 reports on oxidized cholesterols were published until 2011. Oxidized cholesterols are related to development of several diseases. Their physiological significance is as following; (1) interference of synthesis and/or action of steroid hormones, (2) intermediates in bile acids synthesis, (3) promotion or suppression of development of atherosclerosis, (4) ligands for LXR, (5) suppression of de novo cholesterol synthesis, (6) intermediates of cholesterol metabolism in the brain, and (7) disrupters of lipid metabolism by dietar y oxidized cholesterols. In order to grasp these phenomena, there has to be a better way to analyze oxidized cholesterols in vivo with accuracy.