Brain cholesterol homeostasis and its association with neurodegenerative diseases
Abstract
The brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ in mammals. However, cholesterol metabolism in the brain is completely independent of other tissues due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes are the main cells responsible for cholesterol synthesis in the brain. The cholesterol content in the brain is maintained at a relatively constant level under strict regulation of synthesis, transport, and turnover, that is, brain cholesterol homeostasis. Once this balance is disrupted, neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD) ensue. This review summarizes the processes controlling cholesterol homeostasis with respect to the synthesis, transport and turnover of cholesterol in the brain. We further focus on how cholesterol imbalance contributes to neurodegenerative diseases to explore the possibilities to modulate the key steps involved, which will provide clues for the development of therapies for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases.
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Cholesterol buildup in neurons and glia promotes stress and inflammation, whereas its removal may reduce lipid burden.
“These may reflect a compensatory mechanism to export excess cholesterol and preserve NVU homeostasis, as cholesterol buildup in neurons and glia promotes stress and inflammation, whereas its removal may reduce lipid burden. 7 , 60”
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Pineda‐Lopez, L., Aguillon, D., Villar‐Vesga, J., Valderrama‐Carmona, P., Guerrero, A., Upreti, A., Arevalo‐Alquichire, S., Correa, L., Mendez‐Castellanos, K., Castaño, D., et al. (2026) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1002/alz.71148 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gao, Y., Ye, S., Tang, Y., Tong, W., & Sun, S.
- Affiliations
- University of South China (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Tong, Wenjuan
- Sun, Shaowei
- ORCID
- Venue
- Neurochemistry International
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-12
- Volume
- 171
- Pages
- 105635
- ISSN
- 0197-0186 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4388487108
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 10
- FWCI
- 2.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Neurochemistry International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Health Commission of Hunan Province (D202302067797, D202302068763)
- Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department
- Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2021JJ30599, 2021JJ30623)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Keywords
- brain cholesterol homeostasis, cholesterol metabolism, blood-brain barrier, cholesterol biosynthesis, cholesterol transport, cholesterol turnover, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Blood-Brain Barrier, Brain, Cholesterol, Homeostasis, Mammals, Neurodegenerative Diseases
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