4b-Hydroxy cholesterol

Description:
4b-Hydroxy cholesterol is a sterol that is found in human serum and rat liver microsomes. It has been shown to be a potent inducer of CYP3A4, which is an important enzyme in the metabolism of many drugs. 4b-Hydroxy cholesterol has also been shown to induce transcriptional regulation by binding to the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) and activating it. This activation results in the increased production of cholesterol and other sterols by upregulating transcription of genes that are involved in cholesterol synthesis. 4b-Hydoxy cholesterol has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties due to its inhibition of triclosan and clinical studies show that it can reduce serum levels of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in women.