Chinese researchers find new way to lower lipid levels

Chinese researchers have found that inhibiting a kind of receptor in liver could decrease lipid levels in serum and liver, thereby reducing cardiovascular disease risk, according to a study paper published in the journal Nature.

The receptor, ASGR1, is exclusively expressed in liver, said the paper. It added that little has been known how the receptor affects the metabolism of cholesterol, whose accumulation can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Lipid-lowering is necessary to prevent and treat the diseases.

A research team from the Wuhan University found that inhibiting ASGR1 could promote the excretion of cholesterol into the bile and further excretion through feces, thus reducing lipid levels in serum and liver.

Based on the research results, the team developed an anti-ASGR1 neutralizing antibody, which could efficiently lower lipid levels by increasing cholesterol excretion, said the paper.

The antibody showed synergetic effects with widely used lipid-lowering drugs such as atorvastatin, the paper added.