Physiological Role
ABCA1 mediates the efflux of cholesterol and phospholipids to lipid-poor apolipoproteins (apo-A1 and apoE), which then form nascent high-density lipoproteins (HDL). It also mediates the transport of lipids between Golgi and cell membrane. Since this protein is needed throughout the body it is expressed ubiquitously as a 220-kDa protein. It is present in higher quantities in tissues that shuttle or are involved in the turnover of lipids such as the liver, the small intestine and adipose tissue.
Factors that act upon the ABCA1 transporter's expression or its posttranslational modification are also molecules that are involved in its subsequent function like fatty acids, cholesterol and also cytokines and cyclic adenosine monophosphate.
Overexpression of ABCA1 has been reported to induce resistance to the anti-inflammatory, dietary polyphenolic antioxidant Curcumin
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