[6] STARD3 creates membrane contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and late endosomes where it moves cholesterol.

[12] The closest homolog to STARD3 is the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR/StarD1), which initiates the production of steroids by moving cholesterol inside the mitochondrion.

Thus, MLN64 is also proposed to move cholesterol inside the mitochondria under certain conditions to initiate StAR-independent steroidogenesis, such as in the human placenta which lacks StAR yet produces steroids.

[13] This functional role is supported by evidence that MLN64 expression can stimulate steroid production in a model cell system.

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