文章基本信息

标题：Why Is Very High Cholesterol Content Beneficial for the Eye Lens but Negative for Other Organs?
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作者：Justyna Widomska ; Witold K. Subczynski
期刊名称：Nutrients
电子版ISSN：2072-6643
出版年度：2019
卷号：11
期号：5
页码：1083-1100
DOI：10.3390/nu11051083
出版社：MDPI Publishing
摘要：The plasma membranes of the human lens fiber cell are overloaded with cholesterol that not only saturates the phospholipid bilayer of these membranes but also leads to the formation of pure cholesterol bilayer domains. Cholesterol level increases with age, and for older persons, it exceeds the cholesterol solubility threshold, leading to the formation of cholesterol crystals. All these changes occur in the normal lens without too much compromise to lens transparency. If the cholesterol content in the cell membranes of other organs increases to extent where cholesterol crystals forma, a pathological condition begins. In arterial cells, minute cholesterol crystals activate inflammasomes, induce inflammation, and cause atherosclerosis development. In this review, we will indicate possible factors that distinguish between beneficial and negative cholesterol action, limiting cholesterol actions to those performed through cholesterol in cell membranes and by cholesterol crystals.
关键词：cholesterol; phospholipid membrane; eye lens; arterial cells; cataract; atherosclerosis cholesterol ; phospholipid membrane ; eye lens ; arterial cells ; cataract ; atherosclerosis