Cholesterol is a waxy steroid metabolite found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes, where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity. In addition, cholesterol is an important component for the manufacture of bile acids, steroid hormones, and several fat-soluble vitamins. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by animals, but small quantities are synthesized in other eukaryotes, such as plants and fungi. It is almost completely absent among prokaryotes, which include bacteria. Source: [[wikipedia:Cholesterol|Wikipedia]] Proteins on this pathway have targeted assays available via the [https://assays.cancer.gov/available_assays?wp_id=WP197 CPTAC Assay Portal] ec9 d9b e32 c8f ea9 cdc e73 de6 NAD(P) dependent steroid dehydrogenase-like 12235098 PubMed Malformation syndromes due to inborn errors of cholesterol synthesis. J Clin Invest 2002 Porter FD cholesterol biosynthetic pathway PW:0000454 Pathway Ontology