The cholesterol pathway is an essential biochemical process aimed at the synthesis of bioactive molecules involved in multiple crucial cellular functions. The end products of this pathway are sterols, such as cholesterol, which are essential components of cell membranes, precursors of steroid hormones, bile acids and other molecules such as ubiquinone. Several diseases are caused by defects in this metabolic pathway: the most severe forms of which cause neurological involvement (psychomotor retardation and cerebellar ataxia) as a result of a variety of cellular impairments, including mitochondrial dysfunction. These pathologies are induced by convergent mechanisms in which the mitochondrial unit plays a pivotal role contributing to defective apoptosis, autophagy and mitophagy processes. Unraveling these mechanisms would contribute to the development of effective drug treatments for these disorders. In addition, the development of biochemical models could have a substantial impact on the understanding of the mechanism of action of drugs that act on this pathway in multifactor disorders. In this review we will focus in particular on inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis, mitochondria-targeted drugs and inhibitors of the inflammasome.
Keywords: apoptosis; autophagy; cholesterol; inflammasome; mitochondria.