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Lipoprotein receptors: new roles for ancient proteins

Nature Cell Biology volume 1, pages E157–E162 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Lipoprotein receptors used to be viewed simply as the means by which cells were supplied with lipids for energy production and membrane synthesis. This perception has now changed dramatically. Megalin, a member of the low density lipoprotein receptor gene family, turns out to mediate the endocytic uptake of retinoids and steroids, thus helping to regulate their biological function. Other members of this receptor family interact with cytosolic signalling proteins, giving this evolutionarily ancient family of receptors an entirely unexpected new role as transducers of extracellular signals.

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Figure 1: The LDL receptor family.
Figure 2: Endocytosis of ligands by the LDL receptor family.
Figure 3: Hypothetical modes of signal transmission by receptor interactions with cytosolic adaptors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Bönsch, J. Gliemann, J. Goldstein, D. Mangelsdorf, and D. Russell for helpful comments and suggestions. T.E.W. is supported by grants and a Heisenberg fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the BMFT. A.N. is supported by grants from the Danish Medical Research Council, Carlsberg Foundation, The Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Lysgaard Foundation. J.H. is an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association and Parke Davis and also supported by grants from the NIH, the Human Frontiers Science Program, and the Friends of the Alzheimer Disease Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, R. Rössle Strasse 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Thomas E. Willnow

  2. Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark

    Anders Nykjaer

  3. Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75235-9046, Texas, USA

    Joachim Herz

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Correspondence to Anders Nykjaer.

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Willnow, T., Nykjaer, A. & Herz, J. Lipoprotein receptors: new roles for ancient proteins. Nat Cell Biol 1, E157–E162 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/14109

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