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Crystal structure of CETP: new hopes for raising HDL to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease?

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 14, pages 95–97 (2007)Cite this article

A timely study in this issue reports the high-resolution crystal structure of the human plasma protein cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) with its natural lipid ligands. The crystal structure will enhance both basic research on CETP-mediated cholesterol lipid transfer and the design of new drugs that increase plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

With the well-documented successes of statins in lowering the concentration of 'bad' cholesterol (found mainly in low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) in human plasma and in diminishing cardiovascular disease (CVD), there is increasing effort to develop drugs to raise 'good' cholesterol (in HDL). This task has proven to be difficult, and the human plasma protein CETP is a viable target for favorably altering cholesterol distribution among lipoproteins.

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Figure 1: Hypothetical scheme of CETP transfer of cholesteryl ester (CE) and triglyceride (TG) between HDL and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. James A. Hamilton is in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany St., Boston, Massachusetts 02118-2526, USA,

    James A Hamilton

  2. Richard J. Deckelbaum is in the Institute of Human Nutrition, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 W. 168th St., New York, New York 10032, USA. jhamilt@bu.edu,

    Richard J Deckelbaum

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  2. Richard J Deckelbaum
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Hamilton, J., Deckelbaum, R. Crystal structure of CETP: new hopes for raising HDL to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease?. Nat Struct Mol Biol 14, 95–97 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0207-95

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