摘要
Cholesterol is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it regulates membrane permeability,fluidity,fusion and cell signaling pathways (Chang et al.,2006).Cholesterol must be sorted precisely and transported efficiently for the proper functioning of membranes,as each cellular organelle has its distinct cholesterol concentration.The need to understand the molecular mechanisms governing cellular cholesterol transport and distribution is further highlighted by the link between abnormal subcellular distribution of cholesterol and a range of human diseases such as cancer (Zhuang et al.,2005),coronary heart disease (Zhang et al.,2008),steatohepatitis (Marí et al.,2006),neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and Niemann Pick C (NP-C) disease (Vance et al.,2005),and early-onset obesity and insulin resistance (Liu et al.,2017).
