General Description
Reverse Cholesterol Transport (RCT) is the mechanism by which the peripheral lipid burden is reduced by transport to liver and its fecal excretion. The first important step in RCT is the cholesterol efflux from macrophage-derived foam cells present in atherosclerotic plaques. The cholesterol efflux is critical for the maintenance of net cholesterol balance in arterial walls and in the reduction of proinflammatory responses triggered by lipid-laden macrophages.
