When food intake stops, enzyme turns off production of fats, cholesterol

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have found that an enzyme with several important roles in energy metabolism also helps to turn off the body's generation of fats and cholesterol under conditions of fasting. The report in Genes and Development describes how SIRT1, one of a group of enzymes called sirtuins, suppresses the activity of a family of proteins called SREBPs, which control the body's synthesis and handling of fats and cholesterol. The findings could lead to new approaches to treating conditions involving elevated cholesterol and lipid levels...

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