Description
Product Characteristics:
Binds LDL, the major cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein of plasma, and transports it into cells by endocytosis. In order to be internalized, the receptor-ligand complexes must first cluster into clathrin-coated pits. In case of HIV-1 infection, functions as a receptor for extracellular Tat in neurons, mediating its internalization in uninfected cells.
Subcellular location: Cytoplasm, Cell membrane
Synonyms: FH, FHC, LDLCQ2, Low-density lipoprotein receptor, LDL receptor, LDLR
Target Information: The low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene family consists of cell surface proteins involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis of specific ligands. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is normally bound at the cell membrane and taken into the cell ending up in lysosomes where the protein is degraded and the cholesterol is made available for repression of microsomal enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase, the rate-limiting step in cholesterol synthesis. At the same time, a reciprocal stimulation of cholesterol ester synthesis takes place. Mutations in this gene cause the autosomal dominant disorder, familial hypercholesterolemia. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants.[provided by RefSeq, Sep 2010]