What does PCSK9 do and how can we stop it?
Regulation of PCSK9 Expression and Function: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
PCSK9 is a protein that destroys good receptors in your body that help clean bad cholesterol from your blood and help your immune system fight cancer. When we block PCSK9, more of these helpful receptors stay active.
Surprising Findings
PCSK9 inhibition enhances anti-tumor immunity independently of LDLR
Most assumed PCSK9’s effects were limited to cholesterol metabolism. The discovery that it directly weakens immune surveillance by degrading MHCI reveals a completely separate, LDLR-independent pathway linking metabolism and cancer.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high LDL-C or Lp(a) and don’t respond to statins, ask your doctor about PCSK9 inhibitors.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
PCSK9 is a protein that destroys good receptors in your body that help clean bad cholesterol from your blood and help your immune system fight cancer. When we block PCSK9, more of these helpful receptors stay active.
Surprising Findings
PCSK9 inhibition enhances anti-tumor immunity independently of LDLR
Most assumed PCSK9’s effects were limited to cholesterol metabolism. The discovery that it directly weakens immune surveillance by degrading MHCI reveals a completely separate, LDLR-independent pathway linking metabolism and cancer.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high LDL-C or Lp(a) and don’t respond to statins, ask your doctor about PCSK9 inhibitors.
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Year
2021
Authors
Xiao-dan Xia, Zhongsheng Peng, Hong-mei Gu, Maggie Wang, Gui-qing Wang, Da-wei Zhang
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Claims (5)
A protein called PCSK9 helps break down the liver's 'LDL cholesterol cleaners,' so more bad cholesterol stays in your blood, raising heart disease risk. People with certain PCSK9 gene changes either have very high or very low cholesterol levels.
A type of medicine (like evolocumab or alirocumab) blocks a protein in your body called PCSK9, which helps your liver remove bad cholesterol from your blood—cutting it by about half.
Blocking a protein called PCSK9 helps the immune system better recognize and attack cancer cells in mice, slowing tumor growth — and it works in a way that's not related to cholesterol.
Some cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors can lower a specific type of blood fat linked to heart disease, and that might help protect people with high levels, but scientists aren't sure exactly how it works yet.
A protein called PCSK9 causes the liver to break down fewer 'bad' cholesterol carriers, which means more of it stays in your blood.