Both Hepatic and Extrahepatic ABCA1 Have Discrete and Essential Functions in the Maintenance of Plasma High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels In Vivo

Extrahepatic tissues have long been considered critical contributors of cholesterol to nascent HDL particles in the reverse cholesterol transport pathway, in which ABCA1 plays the crucial role. Recent studies, however, including both overexpression and deletion of ABCA1 selectively in the liver, have highlighted the primary role of the liver in the maintenance of HDL levels in vivo.The availability of mice with complete deletion of ABCA1 (total...