Cited by 137Cholesterol and Lipid MetabolismLipoproteins and Cardiovascular HealthLipid metabolism and disorders

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 10 of the 11 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Feedback Regulation of Cholesterol Uptake by the LXR–IDOL–LDLR Axis

Open access
Zhang, Li, Reue, Karen, Fong, Loren G., Young, Stephen G., Tontonoz, Peter·2012·Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology

Abstract

Inducible degrader of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (IDOL) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates the ubiquitination and degradation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR). IDOL expression is controlled at the transcriptional level by the cholesterol-sensing nuclear receptor liver X receptor (LXR). In response to rising cellular sterol levels, activated LXR induces IDOL production, thereby limiting further uptake of exogenous cholesterol through the LDLR pathway. The LXR–IDOL–LDLR mechanism for feedback inhibition of cholesterol uptake is independent of and complementary to the sterol regulatory element–binding protein pathway. Since the initial description of the LXR–IDOL pathway, biochemical studies have helped to define the structural basis for both IDOL target recognition and LDLR ubiquitin transfer. Recent work has also suggested links between IDOL and human lipid metabolism.

Overview

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TL;DR

This review describes the LXR–IDOL–LDLR axis, in which LXR-induced IDOL ubiquitinates and degrades LDLR (and VLDLR/ApoER2), providing feedback inhibition of cholesterol uptake independent of SREBP. It synthesizes structural, cellular, mouse, and human genetic evidence and highlights unresolved questions about IDOL in human lipid metabolism.

Key findings

  • IDOL is an E3 ubiquitin ligase whose promoter is directly regulated by LXR/RXR; LXR agonists induce IDOL and reduce LDLR protein without changing LDLR mRNA, and IDOL-null ES cells have higher basal LDLR protein and internalize LDL more readily. In IDOL-null ES cells, LXR agonists have no effect on LDLR protein or LDL uptake.
  • The LXR–IDOL pathway acts acutely: oxysterol activation reduces plasma membrane LDLR protein in WT cells with a half-maximum effect as early as 2 h, whereas in IDOL-deficient cells LDLR downregulation is slower and only via SREBP-mediated transcriptional suppression.
  • IDOL recognizes targets through its FERM F3b PTB-like domain binding a WxxKNxxSI/MxF motif in cytoplasmic tails; key LDLR residues include W813, I821, and F823, and IDOL residues Y265/T269 (with H272 implicated independently) are important. UBE2D family members (UBE2D1–4) support IDOL autoubiquitination and LDLR ubiquitination, while UBE2N/UBE2V1 has also been implicated.
  • Human genetics: the N342S SNP in IDOL alters LDLR degradation (N342 more active than S342); in a cohort of Mexican hyperlipidemic patients, subjects homozygous for the less active S342 allele exhibited 7% lower plasma cholesterol. GWAS have linked IDOL-region SNPs to total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and statin response.

Methods

  • Narrative review; no new primary data are reported. It synthesizes published biochemical, cell-culture, mouse, structural, GWAS, and human cohort studies.
  • Main analysis is qualitative integration of cited literature, including IDOL-deficient ES cells, LXR agonist treatments, adenoviral overexpression, mutagenesis, and in vitro ubiquitination assays.
  • No systematic review methods, search strategy, or meta-analysis are reported.

Limitations

  • Stated: the role of IDOL in human cholesterol metabolism remains an open question; no complete loss-of-function or dominant-negative IDOL alleles have been described, so effects of dramatic changes in IDOL activity are unknown, and whether pharmacologic inhibition of IDOL-dependent LDLR degradation would substantially affect human lipid levels is unknown.
  • Stated: the relative importance of E2 enzymes (UBE2D vs UBE2N/UBE2V1) and of K48 vs K63 ubiquitin linkages in IDOL function remains to be clarified; the role of IDOL in brain development and function requires further study; and the mechanism for weaker IDOL responsiveness to LXR in mouse liver versus human hepatocyte cell lines is unknown.
  • Evident: as a review, conclusions depend on previously published studies and no new experimental validation is presented.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1161/atvbaha.112.250571

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Metadata

Authors
Zhang, L., Reue, K., Fong, L. G., Young, S. G., & Tontonoz, P.
Affiliations
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Venue
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
Published
2012-11
Volume
32
Issue
11
Pages
2541-2546
ISSN
  • 1079-5642 (ISSN-L)
  • 1524-4636
OpenAlex
W2157159684
Cited by
137
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11
FWCI
1.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institutes of Health (HL090553)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (P01HL090553, HL066088, R01HL066088)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Lipoproteins and Cardiovascular Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Lipid metabolism and disorders
Keywords
liver X receptor, idols, LDL receptor, cholesterol absorption, feedback regulation, E3 ubiquitin ligase, LDLR degradation, SREBP, cholesterol sensing, lipid metabolism, ubiquitination
MeSH terms
Liver X Receptors, Animals, Biological Transport, Cholesterol, Humans, Liver, Receptors, LDL, Substrate Specificity, Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic, Feedback, Physiological, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, Atherosclerosis, Ubiquitination, Orphan Nuclear Receptors

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