ABCA1, from pathology to membrane function

The ABCA1 transporter is the prototype of the A class of mammalian adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporters and one of the largest members of this family. ABCA1 has been originally identified as an engulfment receptor on macrophages and, more recently, it has been shown to play an essential role in the handling of cellular lipids. Indeed by promoting the effluxes of membrane phospholipids and cholesterol to lipid-poor apoprotein acceptors, ABCA1 controls the formation of high-density lipoproteins and thus the whole process of reverse cholesterol transport. A number of additional phenotypes have been found in the mouse model of invalidation of the ABCA1 gene. In spite of their clinical diversity, they all are extremely sensitive to variations in the physicochemical properties of the cell membrane, which ABCA1 controls as a lipid translocator.