In 2017, Alvi et al. showed that lycopene can lower hypercholesterolemia by targeting the expression of the liver genes PCSK-9 and HMGR, and by reducing the affinity of PCSK-9 to form a complex with EGF-A-like LDL-R repeats, leading to an increase in LDL-R activity and the subsequent elimination of LDL-C from the body [85]. Here, PCSK9 is linked to familial hypercholesterolemia.