Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25425472›Full record

ReviewJournal of bioenergetics and biomembranes2016

Mitochondrial cholesterol: mechanisms of import and effects on mitochondrial function.

Laura A Martin, Barry E Kennedy, Barbara Karten

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 122 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  13. Mitochondrial DNA signals driving immune responses: Why, How, Where?Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2025
    Review
  14. Molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2025
    Review
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7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Laura A MartinDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building 9G, PO Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Barry E KennedyDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building 9G, PO Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Barbara KartenDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building 9G, PO Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada. bkarten@dal.ca.
Dalhousie University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mitochondria require cholesterol for biogenesis and membrane maintenance, and for the synthesis of steroids, oxysterols and hepatic bile acids. Multiple pathways mediate the transport of cholesterol from different subcellular pools to mitochondria. In steroidogenic cells, the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) interacts with a mitochondrial protein complex to mediate cholesterol delivery to the inner mitochondrial membrane for conversion to pregnenolone. In non-steroidogenic cells, several members of a protein family defined by the presence of a StAR-related lipid transfer (START) domain play key roles in the delivery of cholesterol to mitochondrial membranes. Subdomains of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), termed mitochondria-associated ER membranes (MAM), form membrane contact sites with mitochondria and may contribute to the transport of ER cholesterol to mitochondria, either independently or in conjunction with lipid-transfer proteins. Model systems of mitochondria enriched with cholesterol in vitro and mitochondria isolated from cells with (patho)physiological mitochondrial cholesterol accumulation clearly demonstrate that mitochondrial cholesterol levels affect mitochondrial function. Increased mitochondrial cholesterol levels have been observed in several diseases, including cancer, ischemia, steatohepatitis and neurodegenerative diseases, and influence disease pathology. Hence, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms maintaining mitochondrial cholesterol homeostasis may reveal additional targets for therapeutic intervention. Here we give a brief overview of mitochondrial cholesterol import in steroidogenic cells, and then focus on cholesterol trafficking pathways that deliver cholesterol to mitochondrial membranes in non-steroidogenic cells. We also briefly discuss the consequences of increased mitochondrial cholesterol levels on mitochondrial function and their potential role in disease pathology.

Indexed as

AnimalsBiological Transport, ActiveCholesterolEndoplasmic ReticulumHumansMitochondriaMitochondrial MembranesPhosphoproteinsSteroidogenic Acute Regulatory ProteinCholesterolPhosphoproteinsSteroidogenic Acute Regulatory ProteinCholesterol traffickingMAMMitochondrial cholesterolMitochondrial functionMLN64Stard1Stard3START proteins

Identifiers

PMID25425472
OpenAlexW1993948951

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.