Calpain-mediated cleavage negatively regulates the expression level of ABCG1

These observations indicate that calpain promotes ABCG1 degradation by cleaving cell surface-resident ABCG1, and consequently reduces the expression and cholesterol efflux function of ABCG1. Inhibition of ABCG1 cleavage by calpain could be a novel approach to suppress the progression of atherosclerosis.