[6] When excess cholesterol accumulates in the ER membranes, it changes Scap to an alternate conformation, allowing it to bind to resident ER proteins, insulin-induced gene (Insig)-1, and Insig-2.[9] This binding precludes the binding of COPII. Consequently, the SREBP2-Scap complex remains in the ER, transcription of the target genes declines, and cholesterol synthesis and uptake fall.[4, 6] Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the primary transcript of SREBP2

also encodes miR-33a, a microRNA that regulates cholesterol metabolism by way of factors such as adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) and Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1), suggesting transcriptional regulation by SREBF2 modulates the cellular capacity for producing not only an active transcription factor but also the expression CHIR-99021 cell line of miR-33a.[10] By studying two mouse models of NASH, we attempted to clarify the precise role of cholesterol in the pathophysiology Midostaurin solubility dmso of NASH. As we found that the major causes of the exacerbation of liver fibrosis in NASH involved FC accumulation in HSCs, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of FC accumulation in HSCs and its role in the pathogenesis of NASH. Please refer to the Supporting Materials and Methods

for more detailed descriptions. Reagents were obtained as follows: low density lipoprotein (LDL), methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD)/cholesterol complex, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), chloroquine, and MG-132 were from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). 25-HC was from Wako Pure Chemical Industries (Osaka, Japan). Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) was from R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN). Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ)-small interfering RNA (siRNA), SREBP2-siRNA, LDLR-siRNA, Scap-siRNA, Insig-1-siRNA, bone morphogenetic protein and activin membrane-bound inhibitor 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 (Bambi)-siRNA, and control-siRNA were from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA). Anti-miR33a, pre-miR33a, and control-miR33a were from Ambion (Austin, TX). Nine-week-old male C57BL/6J mice (CLEA Japan,

Tokyo, Japan) were fed a CE-2 (control; CLEA Japan), CE-2 with 1% cholesterol (HC), methionine-choline-deficient (MCD; Cat. No. 960439; ICN, Aurora, OH), or MCD with 1% cholesterol (MCD+HC) diet for 12 weeks. As another animal model of NASH, 9-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were also fed a CE-2, HC, high-fat (HF; prepared by CLEA Japan according to the #101447 composition of Dyets, Bethlehem, PA), or HF with 1% cholesterol (HF+HC) diet for 24 weeks. In the same way, 7-8-week-old C57BL/6 Toll-like receptor (TLR)4-deficient mice (Oriental BioService, Kyoto, Japan) were fed the control, HC, MCD, or MCD+HC diets for 8 weeks or the control, HC, HF, or HF+HC diets for 20 weeks. All animals received humane care in compliance with the criteria outlined in the “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals,” prepared by the US National Academy of Sciences and published by the US National Institutes of Health.