Exploring how ABCG8 Affects Heart Disease

The high prevalence of atherosclerosis in developed nations is not breaking news; it has been well established that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it presents a major socioeconomic burden. Investigators across the globe have been laboring for decades to unravel the molecular mechanisms that contribute to atherosclerosis, and while some of the major players in these pathways have been identified, unanswered questions persist.  Over the past ten years, an enormous amount of work has been done to establish the role of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in lipid trafficking, and their subsequent influence on the development of atherosclerosis.  Two rare diseases have been identified as models for studying the effects of ABC transporter mutations on the progression of atherosclerosis: Tangier disease, which is caused by a mutation in ABCA1, and sitosterolemia, which occurs as a result of mutations in either ABCG5 or ABCG8 .  Insight provided by studies of these two diseases has helped identify an anti-atherosclerotic pathway termed Reverse Cholesterol Transport (RCT).  ABCG5 and ABCG8 form a heterodimer and are responsible for the excretion of cholesterol from hepatocytes into bile, while ABCA1 localizes to the basolateral regions of hepatocytes and controls the efflux of cholesterol into the vascular system, collectively contributing to RTC.  Despite the convincing evidence linking ABCA1 and ABCG5/8 with lipid homeostasis, recent genome-wide association studies have failed to concretely explain the relatively low prevalence of mutations in ABCA1, ABCG5, and ABCG8 with the enormous rate of heart disease .

As knowledge about these ABC family members continues to emerge, it is likely to inspire lively debate regarding the etiology of atherosclerosis. Novus Biologicals is proud to offer several antibodies for these targets, including a new mouse monoclonal anti-ABCG8 antibody (NBP1-71706).  It is our hope that by providing these quality reagents, we can facilitate the efforts of investigators piecing together the causes of heart disease.