Anti-NPC1 / Niemann Pick C1

Protein function: Intracellular cholesterol transporter which acts in concert with NPC2 and plays an important role in the egress of cholesterol from the endosomal/lysosomal compartment (PubMed:9211849, PubMed:9927649, PubMed:10821832, PubMed:18772377, PubMed:27238017, PubMed:12554680). Unesterified cholesterol that has been released from LDLs in the lumen of the late endosomes/lysosomes is transferred by NPC2 to the cholesterol- binding pocket in the N-terminal domain of NPC1 (PubMed:9211849, PubMed:9927649, PubMed:18772377, PubMed:19563754, PubMed:27238017, PubMed:28784760). Cholesterol binds to NPC1 with the hydroxyl group buried in the binding pocket (PubMed:19563754). Binds oxysterol with higher affinity than cholesterol. May play a role in vesicular trafficking in glia, a process that may be crucial for maintaining the structural and functional integrity of nerve terminals (Probable). [The UniProt Consortium]