HMGCR, Official Symbol HMGCRprovided by HGNC Official Full Name 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductaseprovided by HGNC Primary source HGNC:HGNC:5006 See related Ensembl:ENSG00000113161 MIM:142910; AllianceGenome:HGNC:5006 Gene type protein coding RefSeq status REVIEWED Organism Homo sapiens Lineage Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi; Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo Also known as MYPLG; LDLCQ3; LGMDR28 Summary HMG-CoA reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme for cholesterol synthesis and is regulated via a negative feedback mechanism mediated by sterols and non-sterol metabolites derived from mevalonate, the product of the reaction catalyzed by reductase. Normally in mammalian cells this enzyme is suppressed by cholesterol derived from the internalization and degradation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) via the LDL receptor. Competitive inhibitors of the reductase induce the expression of LDL receptors in the liver, which in turn increases the catabolism of plasma LDL and lowers the plasma concentration of cholesterol, an important determinant of atherosclerosis. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2008] Expression Ubiquitous expression in brain (RPKM 31.2), colon (RPKM 23.2) and 25 other tissues See more Orthologs mouse all