Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Cholesterol packaged in the form of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), sometimes called "bad cholesterol", is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. More than 25 million people worldwide take a class of drugs known as statins to help lower their blood LDL cholesterol level to within recommended healthy limits. The LDL receptor is a protein on the cell surface that binds to LDL in the bloodstream, drawing it into cells and removing it from blood. A protein in blood called PCSK9 can also bind to the LDL receptor, however, this binding triggers LDL receptor destruction. With fewer receptors available, more LDL remains in the bloodstream, leading to disease-causing plaques forming in blood vessels. Our lab studies how the ability of PCSK9 to trigger LDL receptor destruction is controlled by other components in blood. The research undertaken in our lab will aid in the design of drugs that neutralize PCSK9. Cost-effective PCSK9 inhibitors would make a good therapeutic alternative for people who do not respond well to statin drugs. Also, while statin drugs work by increasing the number of LDL receptors that are made in the body, a drug to inhibit PCSK9 would keep the existing receptors from being degraded. A combination of these two drugs promises to be a very effective treatment for lowering "bad" cholesterol levels in the blood.