A new study published in the journal Cell Reports showed that after statins, the next leading class of medications for managing cholesterol are PCSK9 inhibitors. The researchers from the University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, US, claimed that these inhibitors are highly effective agents to pull excess cholesterol from the blood.

However, they added that unlike statins, which are available as oral agents, PCSK9 inhibitors can only be administered as shots, creating barriers to their use. Therefore, they have developed an orally administered small-molecule drug that reduces PCSK9 levels. They noted that LDL receptors are crucial to cholesterol regulation and are located at the surface of liver cells.

On the other hand, nitric oxide is a molecule that is known to prevent heart attacks by dilating blood vessels. They felt that using nitric oxide to target and inhibit PCSK9 could help lower cholesterol. So, they identified a small molecule drug that functions to increase nitric oxide inactivation of PCSK9.

Additionally, they stated that PCSK9 not only targets LDL receptors for degradation but also mediates the degradation of MHC-1 on lymphocytes, which is used for the recognition of cancer cells. Hence, they concluded that their findings can also help improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.