What is cholesterol biosynthesis?

The process by which the body produces cholesterol is called cholesterol biosynthesis It involves many steps, depending on numerous enzymes and the processing process to reach the final product The normal function of human body needs a certain amount of cholesterol It is used to produce cell walls and hormones, as well as other functions However, too much cholesterol in the body can lead to atherosclerosis or narrowing of blood vessels, which can cause serious diseases such as heart disease, heart attack or stroke Cholesterol biosynthesis occurs mainly in the liver, and begins with the nutrition of carbohydrate, fat and protein These are the metabolism of acetyl CoA produced by the body, and then through several metabolism of acetyl CoA thiolase, HMG CoA synthetase and HMG CoA reductase, mevalonate is produced The cholesterol biosynthesis of statins also reaches this point, which is one of the most widely used high cholesterol drugs Mevalonate uses mevalonate kinase, phosphomethylkinase, phosphomethyldecarboxylase and isoprene transferase to produce isoprene through further processing of a series of products They undergo further metabolism to produce squalene, coenzyme Q10, or ubiquinone Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant Squalene is converted into lanosterol by squalene epoxidase and oxidosqualene cyclase Lanosterol undergoes more processing and eventually generates cholesterol This is the simplest explanation for cholesterol biosynthesis, each step involves many steps, each step requires a specific enzyme Of course, the human body system is very complex and precise, it is difficult to express clearly in words As mentioned earlier, too much cholesterol is not a good thing, and high cholesterol needs to be treated by changing eating habits, exercising and using the drug properly HMG CoA reductase inhibitors or statins are the most common drugs used to treat high cholesterol, including atorvastatin, pravastatin and rosuvastatin These drugs use different brand names in different countries and are usually only available by doctor's prescription Statins work by inhibiting the activity of HMG CoA reductase, which is part of the mevalonate production process in cholesterol biosynthesis By inhibiting this enzyme, the conversion of mevalonate is reduced and, as a result, cholesterol levels are reduced Like any drug, statins may interact with other drugs, have certain taboos, and may bring side effects to some people Therefore, they can only be used under the supervision of doctors.