Farnesol is a signaling molecule that is derived from farnesyl diphosphate, an intermediate in the isoprenoid/cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. Farnesol is a 15 carbon isoprenoid alcohol is the corresponding dephosphorylated form of the isoprenoid farnesyl diphosphate. Farnesol has a potential role in controlling the degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase (EC 1.1.1.34, NADPH-hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase). The enzyme is stabilized under conditions of cellular sterol depletion (e.g. statin-treated cells) and rapidly degraded in sterol-loaded cells. In mammalian cells, this enhanced degradation is dependent on the presence of both a sterol and a non-sterol derived from the isoprenoid pathway; farnesol, the dephosphorylated form of farnesyl diphosphate, can function as the non-sterol component. Farnesol has been shown to activate the farnesoid receptor (FXR), a nuclear receptor that forms a functional heterodimer with RXR. Thus, dephosphorylation of

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