Brain cholesterol and suicidal behaviour

Abstract

Cholesterol is required for growth and replication of all mammalian cells (Yeagle, 1985) and is an obligate precursor of steroid hormones and bile acids. The chemistry and biochemistry of this molecule have attracted much interest due to its role in membrane integrity and function, and in particular due to its association with human diseases. Cholesterol homeostasis in man is regulated by well-balanced mechanisms of synthesis, uptake, esterification and metabolism. Most of the circulating total body cholesterol is of endogenous origin and a considerable amount is synthesized in the liver. The dietary cholesterol is absorbed in the intestine and then transported to the liver. Cholesterol is mainly eliminated by biliary secretion of cholesterol itself or as bile acids, the latter being responsible for absorption of intestinal cholesterol (Lin and Connor, 1980). Plasma lipoproteins transport cholesterol to different target tissues, but also return cholesterol to the liver (Brown and Goldstein, 1986). The discovery of the LDL receptor and its presence in mammalian cells, particularly the liver, revolutionized our understanding in whole-body cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism (Brown and Goldstein, 1986; Motulsky, 1986). © 2006 Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum.