{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T14:15:11Z","timestamp":1772547311188,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772496000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FONDECYT Postdoctorado","award":["3210505"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3210505"]}]},{"name":"FONDECYT Postdoctorado","award":["3210493"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3210493"]}]},{"name":"FONDECYT Regular","award":["1230905"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1230905"]}]},{"name":"Beca Doctorado Nacional","award":["21150665"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21150665"]}]},{"name":"AnilloANID","award":["ACT210039"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ACT210039"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor deficits, partly attributed to cerebellar dysfunction. RTT is primarily caused by mutations in the gene encoding the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2), which has been implicated in cholesterol homeostasis by mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Given that brain cholesterol is primarily synthesized de novo and that disrupted cholesterol homeostasis is linked to various neurological disorders, we aimed to investigate cholesterol regulation in the cerebellum of Mecp2-null mice, a well-established RTT model. We measured total cholesterol levels in cerebellar tissue and cerebellar synaptosomes and assessed the expression of genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and intracellular transport. Our results show significantly elevated total cholesterol in both cerebellar tissue and synaptosomes. Furthermore, we identified a marked reduction in CYP46A1 expression, which is essential for the elimination of encephalon sterols. In contrast, key cholesterol biosynthetic regulators (Srebp2, Hmgcs1, Sqle) showed no significant changes in expression, suggesting an impaired cerebellar cholesterol turnover\u2014driven by defective clearance\u2014rather than enhanced synthesis may underlie the metabolic imbalance observed in the cerebellum of the RTT mouse model. Altogether, these findings provide a mechanistic insight into how MeCP2 deficiency disrupts cerebellar cholesterol homeostasis and highlight cholesterol clearance pathways as potential contributors to RTT pathology and a factor to consider for further RTT therapeutic approaches.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27052348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T09:45:12Z","timestamp":1772531112000},"page":"2348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dysregulated Cholesterol Clearance via CYP46A1 Contributes to Cerebellar Sterol Imbalance in Mecp2-Null Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3814-7940","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo J.","family":"Tapia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinolog\u00eda y Metabolismo, Centro de Biolog\u00eda Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 8580704, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bastian I.","family":"Rivera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinolog\u00eda y Metabolismo, Centro de Biolog\u00eda Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 8580704, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6363-5896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C. Sof\u00eda","family":"Espinoza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinolog\u00eda y Metabolismo, Centro de Biolog\u00eda Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 8580704, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Francisca","family":"Stolzenbach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinolog\u00eda y Metabolismo, Centro de Biolog\u00eda Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 8580704, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda J.","family":"Y\u00e1\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Metabolismo Hep\u00e1tico\u2013Placentario, Escuela de Tecnolog\u00eda M\u00e9dica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 7510157, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8714-8726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bredford","family":"Kerr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinolog\u00eda y Metabolismo, Centro de Biolog\u00eda Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago 8580704, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"723","article-title":"On a unusual brain atrophy syndrome in hyperammonemia in childhood","volume":"116","author":"Rett","year":"1966","journal-title":"Wien. 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