New research from the Feinberg School of Medicine is offering a promising new way to help increase patients’ levels of “good” cholesterol, known as HDL.
Dr. C. Shad Thaxton, an assistant professor in the Department of Urology, and Dr. Chad A. Mirkin, director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, have fabricated a synthetic nanoparticle of good cholesterol that mimics the actual molecule’s ability to clean out arteries, Thaxton said. The nanoparticle may help in creating future drugs that improve HDL levels while working with current medications that lower LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that can clog arteries, Thaxton added.
Cholesterol is produced in the liver and transported throughout the circulatory system by two major types of lipoproteins, HDL and LDL. Cholesterol levels are largely determined by a person’s genetics, though unhealthy food choices can add to the problem.
While practicing healthy lifestyle habits can help lower levels of LDL, doing so has little influence on a patient’s “good” cholesterol levels.
HDL “scrubs away” at the fatty deposits left by LDL and transports them back to the liver, a process known as reverse cholesterol transport, Thaxton said. High LDL levels can lead to excessive cholesterol deposits which clog blood vessels and eventually lead to heart attacks.
The researchers have not yet tested the nanoparticle’s effects on animals, Thaxton said.
“The next stage is to observe whether this (synthetic) HDL is active in the human body,” he said. “We certainly hope that this drug will be used with existing drugs, but only time will tell.”
Niacin, a popularly-prescribed B-vitamin currently used to help boost HDL levels, is not an ideal drug, Mirkin said.
“If you have low HDL, there’s only so much you can do,” he said. “For me, (niacin) is not very effective.”
However, formulating a drug for HDL is still far off from becoming a reality, Mirkin said.
“Drug development is a long process … but we’ve taken an important step in developing a therapeutic,” he said. “You have to walk before you run, and I’d say we’re jogging right now.”
