Yeast oxysterol-binding proteins and lipid regulation

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Cholesterol is a necessary evil. Too much cholesterol leads to disease, but some cholesterol is nonetheless needed for normal cell growth. Cholesterol and related lipids are required for the structure of the membrane that envelopes cells, and cholesterol affects the function of proteins embedded within this membrane. Oxysterol-binding proteins (OSBPs) are implicated in the transport of cholesterol within cells and in associated cellular responses. We discovered that yeast OSBPs help determine where on the mother cell a new daughter cell will grow and divide. The goal of our work is to define the mechanism by which yeast OSBPs integrate cholesterol and lipid regulatory signals with the control of cell growth and division. Because yeast and humans possess similar factors required for cell growth, we can exploit yeast molecular genetics to make quick progress towards understanding why cholesterol and OSBPs are important to our cells.