Researchers have identified a gene, called MeXis, that helps remove cholesterol from blood vessels.

Senior study author Peter Tontonoz, MD, PhD, and colleagues found mice lacking MeXis had nearly twice as many blockages in their blood vessels as those that had normal levels of the gene. Also, increasing MeXis levels allowed cells to remove more excess cholesterol than lower levels, the researchers reported in Nature Medicine.

Genes like MeXis have been presumed to be functionless because they produce no protein product, according to a press release from UCLA. But Tontonoz et al.’s study builds on recent research suggesting these “selfish genes” can play important roles in biological function, primarily by producing long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs).

“What this study tells us is that lncRNAs are important for the inner workings of cells involved in the development of heart disease,” Tontonoz said. “Considering many genes like MeXis have completely unknown functions, our study suggests that further exploring how other long non-coding RNAs act will lead to exciting insights into both normal physiology and disease.”

Tontonoz and colleagues plan to test ways to alter the gene’s activity. They believe it could eventually lead to new treatments for cardiovascular disease.

“The idea that lncRNAs are directly involved in very common ailments such as plaque buildup within arteries offers new ways of thinking about how to treat and diagnose heart disease,” said lead author Tamer Sallam, MD, PhD, the co-director of UCLA’s Center for Cholesterol Management. “There is likely a good reason why genes that make RNAs rather than proteins exist. A key question for us moving forward is how they may be involved in health and disease.”