Take a look at this article, hopefully after some time more and more research can be done about this. Having high cholesterol may not be so bad after all if this is true ;) Read on:
Could it be that the cookie you've been craving may not be all that bad for you?
A Simon Fraser University researcher is among four scientists who argue that cholesterol may slow or stop cancer cell growth in a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in February.
Chris Beh, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at SFU, led a team of researchers who were studying how cholesterol moves around inside cells in the fat's journey to cell surfaces where it reinforces their outer membrane.
Researchers said cholesterol-binding proteins called ORPs (oxysterol-binding proteins) may control cell growth.
In general, ORPs have been assumed to bind and transport cholesterol inside cells.
Yet the study's results suggest that ORPs ``probably have nothing to do with moving around cholesterol within cells,'' Beh said in a statement.
Instead, Beh said they observed that the cholesterol-binding had put the brakes on ORPs' ability to bind to another lipid or fat called PI4P which, if left unchecked, could accelerate cell growth ``like crazy.''
``Given that uncontrolled cell growth is a key feature of cancer, this means gaining a better understanding of the true purpose of cholesterol-binding within cells could be important in cancer treatment,'' he said.
In the study, scientists found that the genetic changes they engineered blocked the ability of ORPs to bind cholesterol, but didn't block the ORPs from functioning.
Instead, they found that these altered ORPs worked better and activated other regulator proteins.
``Understanding the functional roles of ORPs has taken on a new imperative with the recent discovery that human ORPs are specific targets of ORP philins, a diverse group of nanomolar inhibitors that prevent cancer cell growth,'' the study concluded.
Researchers said they will work to identify the proteins that respond to ORP activation and the circumstances when cholesterol turns off ORPs' activation of these proteins.
more from here: http://www.canada.com/Cholesterol+fight+cancer+researchers/6488300/story.html
