Adipophilin和NCEH在动脉粥样硬化中作用的研究进展

New Advances on Adipophilin and the Neutral Cholesterol Ester Hydrolase in the Study of Atherosclerosis

Adipophilin作为一种脂肪分化相关蛋白分布在脂滴表面,是脂质蓄积的特异性标记物,其过度表达可能促进细胞内胆固醇酯的蓄积,与动脉粥样硬化、病理性肥胖、胰岛素抵抗等病理过程密切相关。中性胆固醇酯水解酶(NCEH)是一种微粒体酶,可以在中性pH值环境中发挥胆固醇酯水解作用,在胆固醇逆向转运中发挥限速作用,在人类动脉粥样斑块区大量表达。Adipophilin与NCEH是细胞内脂滴形成和水解过程中起相反作用的两个蛋白,参与维持脂滴形成与水解的动态平衡。当机体受病理因素影响时,Adipophilin与NCEH之间的动态平衡被打破,细胞内胆固醇酯大量蓄积,导致动脉粥样硬化的发生发展。然而,目前关于Adipophilin和NCEH两者在脂滴的合成与水解中的相关机制及其在动脉粥样硬化发生中的具体作用尚不清楚,本文拟对该问题进行综述。

Adipophilin, as a lipid droplet-associated protein, is a specific marker in the accumulation of lipid, the overexpression of Adipophilin can promote the accumulation of lipids, which is relevant to the pathological process of ather- osclerosis and insulin resistance. Neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase （NCEH） is a microsomal enzyme and richly ex- pressed in human atheromatous lesions, can hydrolyze cholesterol ester （CE） in a neutral pH environment, and plays a rate-limiting role in the reverse transportation of cholesterol esters. Adipophilin and NCEH plays an opposite role in main- taining the dynamic balance between the formation and hydrolysis of lipid drops. Under the pathological state, the dynam- ic balance between Adipophilin and NCEH is broken, thus the accumulation of cholesterol ester is promoted, and the oc- currence and development of atherosclerosis is further accelerated. However, the mechanism of Adipophilin and NCEH in the formation and hydrolysis of lipid drops, and their role in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, is still un- clear. So, this paper is reviewed about this issue.