Evidence mapPaperPMID 33833449Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Cardiology2021

High-density lipoproteins, reverse cholesterol transport and atherogenesis.

Henry J Pownall, Corina Rosales, Baiba K Gillard, Antonio M Gotto

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Cardiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 120 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
120citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
21.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

120 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 212 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effects of physical exercise on the lipid profile of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Effects of aged black garlic (ABG10+Frontiers in nutrition · 2026
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Observational
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Association between non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHHR) and cognitive impairment in middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

60 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Henry J PownallCenter for Bioenergetics, Department of Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA. hjpownall@houstonmethodist.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8412-506X
Corina RosalesCenter for Bioenergetics, Department of Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
Baiba K GillardCenter for Bioenergetics, Department of Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2527-5102
Antonio M GottoWeill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA. amg2004@med.cornell.edu.
Houston Methodist · USCornell University · US

Funding

Atheroprotection via Reduced Plasma High Density Lipoprotein-Free Cholesterol BioavailabilityR01HL149804 · NHLBI · METHODIST HOSPITAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI Henry J. Pownall, Corina Rosales · 2021 to 2023
$1.2M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL129767NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL149804
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plasma HDL-cholesterol concentrations correlate negatively with the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). According to a widely cited model, HDL elicits its atheroprotective effect through its role in reverse cholesterol transport, which comprises the efflux of cholesterol from macrophages to early forms of HDL, followed by the conversion of free cholesterol (FCh) contained in HDL into cholesteryl esters, which are hepatically extracted from the plasma by HDL receptors and transferred to the bile for intestinal excretion. Given that increasing plasma HDL-cholesterol levels by genetic approaches does not reduce the risk of ASCVD, the focus of research has shifted to HDL function, especially in the context of macrophage cholesterol efflux. In support of the reverse cholesterol transport model, several large studies have revealed an inverse correlation between macrophage cholesterol efflux to plasma HDL and ASCVD. However, other studies have cast doubt on the underlying reverse cholesterol transport mechanism: in mice and humans, the FCh contained in HDL is rapidly cleared from the plasma (within minutes), independently of esterification and HDL holoparticle uptake by the liver. Moreover, the reversibility of FCh transfer between macrophages and HDL has implicated the reverse process - that is, the transfer of FCh from HDL to macrophages - in the aetiology of increased ASCVD under conditions of very high plasma HDL-FCh concentrations.

Indexed as

AtherosclerosisCholesterolLipoproteins, HDLAnimalsBiological TransportHumansMiceRisk AssessmentCholesterolLipoproteins, HDL

Identifiers

PMID33833449
OpenAlexW3144050890

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.