Intestinal and Hepatic Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1

Polytopic transmembrane protein, Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) is localized at the apical membrane of enterocytes and the canalicular membrane of hepatocytes. It mediates intestinal cholesterol absorption and prevents extensive loss of cholesterol by transporting biliary cholesterol into hepatocytes. NPC1L1 is a molecular target of ezetimibe, an agent for hypercholesterolemia. Recently, NPC1L1 inhibition has been shown to prevent metabolic disorders such as fatty liver disease, obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. In this review, the identification and characterization of NPC1L1, NPC1L1-dependent cholesterol transport, the relationship with pathogenesis of metabolic disease and its newly introduced function for virus entry are discussed.