Emerging roles of the intestine in control of cholesterol metabolism

Figure 1 Schematic overview of the major routes of cholesterol in enterocytes. Dietary and biliary cholesterol are taken up via the action of NPC1L1. In the ER, cholesterol is esterified and incorporated into chylomicrons, which are subsequently secreted into lymph. Non-esterified sterols can be re-secreted into the intestinal lumen via the action of ABCG5/G8 or secreted towards ApoA1 via the action of ABCA1. ABCA1, ABCG5, ABCG8: ATP-binding cassette transporter A1, G5, G8; ACAT2: Acyl-coenzyme A: Cholesterol acyl transferase 2; ApoAI, ApoB48, apolipoprotein AI, B48; C: Cholesterol; CE: Cholesterylester; ER: Endoplasmatisch reticulum; MTP: Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein; NPC1L1: Niemann Pick C 1 like 1 protein; SARA2: Sar1-ADP-ribosylation GTPase 2; TG: Triglycerides.