Ergosterol increases 7-dehydrocholesterol, a cholesterol precursor, and decreases cholesterol in human HepG2 cells

Current treatment approaches for hyperlipidemia rely mainly on reducing the cholesterol level by inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), which is involved in the presqualene pathway of cholesterol biosynthesis. Finding a compound that instead targets the postsqualene pathway could aid in the treatment of hyperlipidemia and synergistically reduce the cholesterol level when used in conjunction with HMGCR inhibitors. Ergosterol is a fungal sterol that is converted to brassicasterol by 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7). DHCR7 is also a cholesterol biosynthesis enzyme, and thus ergosterol may cause the accumulation of 7-dehydrocholesterol, a precursor of cholesterol and vitamin D₃, by a competitive effect. In this study, we examined the effect of ergosterol on the postsqualene pathway by quantifying cholesterol precursors and related sterols using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and by conducting quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis for human HepG2 hepatoma cells. We found that ergosterol is converted into brassicasterol by the action of DHCR7 from HepG2 cells and that it induced the accumulation of cholesterol precursors (lathosterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, and desmosterol) and decreased the cholesterol level by altering the mRNA and protein levels of cholesterol biosynthesis enzymes (increase of sterol 8,7-isomerase [EBP] and decrease of DHCR7 and 24-dehydrocholesterol reductase [DHCR24]). These results demonstrate that ergosterol inhibits the postsqualene pathway and may be useful for the prevention of hyperlipidemia.