Research reveals the liver's immune system consumes the "bad cholesterol"
Sweden: In a study, published in the Journal Nature Cardiovascular Research, researchers from Karolinska Institute in Sweden revealed that immune cells in the liver react to high cholesterol levels and eat up excess cholesterol that can otherwise cause damage to arteries and that the response to the onset of atherosclerosis begins in the liver.
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is essential for many functions in the body, such as making hormones and cell membranes. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can be harmful, as it can stick to the walls of the arteries and form plaques that narrow or block the blood flow. This results in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the primary underlying cause of heart attacks and strokes, and the leading cause of death worldwide.
In the study, researchers tried to understand how different tissues in the body react to high levels of LDL, also called ‘bad cholesterol’, in the blood. To test this, they created a system where they could quickly increase the cholesterol in the blood of mice.
“Essentially, we wanted to detonate a cholesterol bomb and see what happened next. We found that the liver responded almost immediately and removed some of the excess cholesterol,” said Stephen Malin, lead author of the study and principal researcher at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institute.
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