Identifying sterol response elements within promoters of genes

Abstract

Cholesterol levels are under tight control within cells. This involves a complex interplay of balancing synthesis, uptake, and export. A major player in the transcriptional regulation of cholesterol levels is sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP). SREBP is upregulated in conditions of low cholesterol, and then binds to sterol regulatory elements (SREs) that exist within the promoters of genes involved in cholesterol synthesis and uptake. Here, we describe a method to identify sterol response elements (SREs) using in silico and experimental approaches.