17 Dec , 19:14
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Revolutionary Discovery: Scientists Create "Smart" Cholesterol Controlled by Light
Cholesterol is often associated with cardiovascular diseases, however, this molecule is vital for the body. It is a component of cell membranes and serves as a precursor for the synthesis of key hormones, including estrogen and testosterone. Despite this, many aspects of cholesterol behavior in the cell remain poorly understood.
"Cholesterol is involved in an enormous number of processes that determine health and disease development, but due to its small size and chemical properties, it is extremely difficult to observe," explained one of the study authors, Michael Zott, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.
To overcome this limitation, scientists typically use so-called functional analogs - molecules that mimic cholesterol but are equipped with chemical "tags." In the new work, a team led by Dirk Trauner went further and created "photocholesterols" - cholesterol analogs with light-sensitive fragments.
When irradiated with light, these molecules change shape, which allows their biological activity to be turned on or off. This opens the way to so-called spatiotemporal control: a drug can be introduced into the body as a whole, but activated only in a specified area using a directed light beam.
"Some forms of light can penetrate deep enough into tissues," Trauner explained. "This allows the molecule to be activated at a strictly defined place and at a specific moment, without affecting the entire organism."
According to Zott, the selectivity of these molecules allows the creation of tools for precise "switching on" and "switching off" of individual proteins, which in the future will help decipher the complex pathways of cholesterol transport in the cell.
In the future, scientists plan to use light-controlled molecules for detailed mapping of cholesterol movement under normal and pathological conditions. In addition, a similar approach is intended to be applied to other lipids.
