Spreading the Wealth: Niemann-Pick Type C Proteins Bind and Transport Cholesterol

Endocytosed cholesterol must be transferred from the environment (e.g., low-density lipoproteins) via the lysosomal system to the rest of the cell. In Niemann-Pick type C disease, this process fails. In a recent issue of Cell, Kwon et al. (2009) suggest how this transpires mechanistically by crystallizing a domain of a protein defective in this syndrome.