Why Eating Cholesterol Lowers Your LDLR: A New Mechanism…

Why Eating Cholesterol Lowers Your LDLR: A New Mechanism Just Found Every cardiologist knows the LDLR story. The liver uses low-density lipoprotein receptors to pull LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream. More LDLR — lower LDL. Less LDLR — higher LDL. Statins work largely by increasing LDLR expression. PCSK9 inhibitors work by preventing LDLR degradation. But there has always been a gap in this story. When patients eat a high-cholesterol diet, LDLR levels fall — independently of PCSK9 and independently of transcriptional regulation. Something else was driving that degradation. Nobody knew what. A study published in Nature this week found the answer. When dietary cholesterol is chronically elevated, it activates a family of proteins called Ral GTPases thr