Although nutritional programming
of cholesterol synthesis in later life is biologically plausible (13), there were several weaknesses in the data presented in our earlier review (10), which limited the strength of evidence for a causal association between breastfeeding and lower blood cholesterol concentrations in later life.
They found decreased expression for almost all of the
genes of cholesterol synthesis, including a gene called SREBP - 2, which acts as a master regulator for cholesterol production.
In a recent minireview in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Laura Sharpe and Andrew Brown of the University of New South Wales describe multiple ways various enzymes other than HMGCR are implicated in the
modulation of cholesterol synthesis.
They found that the
majority of cholesterol synthesis - regulating genes in the hypothalami of these mice are down - regulated and that their expression normalizes if the mice are given insulin.
Statin Drugs lower cholesterol by inhibiting the enzyme HMG - CoA reductase, which is the rate - limiting enzyme of the mevalonate
pathway of cholesterol synthesis.