SH-42 is an inhibitor of ∆24-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR24; IC50 = 4.2 nM). It increases serum levels of desmosterol , the immediate precursor of cholesterol in the Bloch pathway, in mice when administered at a dose of 0.5 mg/animal per day. SH-42 increases levels of arachidonic acid and its metabolite prostaglandin E2, as well as docosahexaenoic acid and its metabolites 19,20-EpDPA and 19,20-DiHDPA, in the peritoneal lavage fluid in a mouse model of peritonitis induced by zymosan A . SH-42 (0.5 mg/animal three times per week) decreases disease severity in mice expressing liver X receptor α (LXRα-positive) but not LXRα-deficient mice in a model of hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat high-cholesterol diet.