You can still navigate this site from the footer links found on the bottom of each page. Links to upgrade your browser. To achieve this, a genomic expression library will be made from a Eubacterial strain that has demonstrated cholesterol reductase activity. The library will then be expressed in strains of E. coli that are capable of expressing large quantities of foreign proteins and the resulting E. coli clones will be screened for the ability to convert cholesterol to coprostanol. Identification of a positive clone will allow for sequencing of the gene and mass production of the responsible enzyme for use in future nutritional studies.
Plasma cholesterol continues to be of concern for many people in the United States today.
A novel approach of decreasing plasma cholesterol by enzymatically reducing cholesterol to coprostanol in the small intestine is being examined. The resulting coprostanol is not absorbed and is therefore excreted in the feces. This is of interest because it would not only reduce dietary cholesterol, but biliary cholesterol as well. Cholesterol reduction by certain Eubacterial species has been noted previously, but no major efforts have been made towards identification of the gene responsible for reductase activity. University Privacy Statement, and Terms of Use.