Cancer
Cholesterol adrift on a lipid raft affects cancer progression
By Journal of Clinical Investigation
Mar 18, 2005, 23:06

Michael Freeman and colleagues from Harvard Medical School examine whether the cholesterol content of lipid rafts plays a role in prostate cancer. Lipid rafts are small regions in the membranes of cells that contain high levels of cholesterol.

The authors show that depletion of cholesterol by a cholesterol- lowering drug (simvastatin) induces death of prostate cancer cells. Elevating cholesterol content had the opposite effect, promoting tumor growth and decreasing death of the cancerous cells.

Thus, the cholesterol content of lipid rafts in cell membranes may mediate tumor survival and may be a potential target involved in tumor progression.

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