Emerging roles of the intestine in control of cholesterol metabolism

Figure 2 Schematic overview of the regulation of cholesterol transport in enterocytes. Plant sterols, ezetimibe PPARδ/β agonists and LXR agonists all reduce cholesterol absorption through different mechanisms. Plant sterols interfere with micellisation of cholesterol. Ezetimibe binds to NPC1L1 and thereby interferes with the cholesterol uptake. Agonists for PPARδ/β reduce expression of NPC1L1 and thereby the amount of NPC1L1 protein. Agonists for LXR increase the expression of ABCG5 and ABCG8 and thereby enhance the efflux of cholesterol towards the intestinal lumen. LXR: Liver X Receptor; PPARδ/β: Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor δ/β.