Comparison of synthetic saponin cholesterol absorption inhibitors in rabbits: evidence for a non-stoichiometric, intestinal mechanism of action

The hypocholesterolemic activities of pamaqueside and tiqueside, two structurally similar saponins, were evaluated in cholesterol-fed rabbits. The pharmacological profiles of the saponins were virtually identical: both dose-dependently decreased the intestinal absorption of labeled cholesterol 25-75%, increased fecal neutral sterol excretion up to 2.5-fold, and decreased hepatic cholesterol content 10-55%. High doses of pamaqueside (>5 mg/kg) or tiqueside (>125 mg/kg) completely prevented hypercholesterolemia. Decreases in plasma and hepatic cholesterol levels were strongly correlated with increased neutral sterol excretion. Ratios of neutral sterol excreted to pamaqueside administered were greater than 1:1 at all doses, in opposition to the formation of a stoichiometric complex previously suggested for tiqueside and other saponins. Ratios in tiqueside-treated rabbits were less than unity, a reflection of its lower potency. Pamaqueside-treated rabbits exhibited a more rapid decline in plasma cholesterol concentrations than control animals fed a cholesterol-free diet, indicating that the compound also inhibited the absorption of biliary cholesterol. Intravenous administration of pamaqueside had no effect on plasma cholesterol levels despite plasma levels twice those observed in rabbits given pamaqueside orally.These data indicate that pamaqueside and tiqueside induce hypocholesterolemia by blocking lumenal cholesterol absorption via a mechanism that apparently differs from the stoichiometric complexation of cholesterol hypothesized for other saponins.     

Effect of Dietary Composition on Lipids in Serum and in Liver of Rats Fed a Cystine-excess Diet

The effects of dietary composition on lipids in serum and in liver of rats fed with a cystine- excess diet were investigated.

When starch was used as the carbohydrate source, the addition of excess-cystine caused an increase in serum cholesterol and phospholipids, and hepatomegaly. Phospholipids in serum of rats fed with a cystine-excess diet containing 5% corn oil were higher than those with a cystine-excess diet that was low in corn oil (0.1 %). The addition of konjac mannan and pectin prevented hypercholesterolemia, and the rise in phospholipids in serum was prevented by the addition of konjac mannan.

Liver cholesterol (mg/liver/100 g of body wt.) increased in rats fed with a cystine-excess diet.

The addition of excess cystine to a diet containing sucrose as the carbohydrate source resulted in a marked increase of cholesterol in serum and liver, and a decrease of serum triglycerides.

The replacement of starch by sucrose in the cystine-excess diet increased liver cholesterol.

Lipids, cholesterol, phospholipids and triglycerides in the liver, but not phospholipids, when expressed as mg per g of liver for rats fed with the diets containing sucrose, increased when compared to those for rats fed with the diets containing starch. In contrast, serum triglycerides increased.     

Early changes in plasma lipoprotein structure and biosynthesis in cholesterol-fed rabbits

Plasma lipoproteins of d < 1.063 g/ml from rabbits fed a diet containing 1% cholesterol for 4 days showed changes in concentration and rates of flotation as determined by analytical ultracentrifugation. A marked increase in cholesteryl ester content of lipoprotein with d < 1.019 g/ml was the most prominent change in rabbits fed the diet for 21 days. Gel electrophoresis and immunochemical procedures demonstrated that in control and hypercholesterolemic rabbits there were some common apolipoproteins found in all lipoproteins with density < 1.063 g/ml. In control rabbits, there were also apolipoproteins specific to the lipoprotein fraction with d < 1.019 and to the fraction with d 1.019-1.063 g/ml. However, in rabbits fed the hypercholesterolemic diet for 21 days, the apolipoproteins characteristic of fraction 1.019-1.063 were the most abundant in the fraction with d < 1.019 g/ml. Liver slices from rabbits fed the high cholesterol diet for 7 and 21 days incorporated more l-[(14)C]leucine into very low density and low density lipoproteins than controls. The results suggest that cholesterol feeding leads to an increase in biosynthesis of lipoproteins with d < 1.063 g/ml. The newly synthesized lipoprotein contains apolipoproteins similar to those found in controls but with a higher lipid-to-protein ratio. From the apoprotein composition, it is concluded that the very low density fraction present in cholesterol-fed animals is more structurally related to low density lipoproteins than to the very low density lipoproteins isolated from control animals.     

Dietary beta-sitosterol as an internal standard to correct for cholesterol losses in sterol balance studies

In the course of carrying out sterol balance studies in 19 patients, we gathered the following evidence that, in some but not all patients, considerable amounts of neutral sterols are "lost" during their passage through the intestinal tract. (a) Since plant sterols are largely nonabsorbable in man, they should be totally recovered in the feces; yet in many patients significantly less plant sterol than expected was recovered, the loss amounting to as much as 56% of daily intake. (b) In two patients in whom cholesterol-(14)C and beta-sitosterol-(3)H were instilled into the terminal ileum, from which neither sterol is absorbed, the feces contained 25% less of each isotope than was instilled. (c) In four patients fed radioactive cholesterol daily until the isotopic steady state was closely approximated, 28-50% of the isotope could not be accounted for. On the other hand, in five patients fed radioactive bile acids until the isotopic steady state was approximated, input equalled output as predicted. Since the amount of -sitosterol absorbed in man is limited (5% or less), this sterol can be used as an internal standard for upward correction of the figure obtained for the amount of neutral steroids excreted. The use of beta-sitosterol for this purpose is based on three considerations: (a) it passes through the intestine in the same physicochemical state as cholesterol; (b) it accompanies cholesterol at every step of its isolation and chromatographic measurement; and (c) it is lost to the same extent as cholesterol. Excretion data for fecal neutral steroids can therefore be corrected for irregular fecal flow as well as for the "unexpected loss" referred to. This loss seems to be due not to errors in stool collection or to technical errors, but to intestinal bacterial degradation of neutral 3beta-OH,Delta(5)-sterols to products not recognized as steroids in the analytical methods used.     

The effect of pure and long-stored commercial cholesterol on the binding of very low density and low density lipoproteins by rabbit hepatocytes (in vitro research)

Effects of pure and long-stored commercial cholesterol feeding on rabbit plasma cholesterol level, on rabbit hepatocyte cholesterol esters levels, and on receptor activity of rabbit hepatocytes were investigated in three experimental groups. In comparison with control, the cholesterol levels in plasma of rabbits, fed with pure and long-stored cholesterol, were 3 and 15 times higher accordingly. Free cholesterol and cholesterol esters concentrations were enhanced in hepatocytes of rabbits fed with pure cholesterol (1.4 and 2.3 times, accordingly, p 0.05) and much more enhanced in hepatocytes of rabbits fed with long-stored cholesterol (4.5 and 24 times, accordingly, p less than 0.05). Specific binding of 125-1-labeled VLDL and LDL to rabbit hepatocytes was decreased in experimental groups by 20% and 32%, accordingly in the first group and by 40% and 77%, accordingly in the second group.     

Comparison of cholesterol transport in pulmonary, peritoneal, and blood-derived macrophages from normo- and hypercholesterolemic rabbits

The influx and efflux components of cholesterol transport were separately determined in pulmonary, peritoneal, and monocyte-derived macrophages from rabbits fed a diet containing either 4.5% fat or 4.5% fat plus 2% cholesterol. Both influx and efflux in pulmonary macrophages increased with increasing concentration of either normal or hypercholesterolemic serum in the medium. The mass of cholesterol entering the macrophages continued to increase beyond the mass of cholesterol effluxed, leading to an increase in cholesterol mass. Similar results were obtained with peritoneal macrophages. Cholesterol-enriched peritoneal macrophages in most cases had a net efflux of sterol when incubated with normocholesterolemic serum. Pulmonary and peritoneal macrophages from cholesterol-fed rabbits tended to have slower sterol influx and a slightly faster sterol efflux than pulmonary and peritoneal macrophages from control rabbits, but the combined effect of these mechanisms did not prevent these macrophages from accumulating sterol ester from hypercholesterolemic serum. Hypercholesterolemic rabbit serum was fractionated by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography into a beta-VLDL-deficient nonadsorbed fraction, which had very little effect on pulmonary macrophage sterol content, and an adsorbed beta-VLDL-containing fraction which promoted a large increase in macrophage sterol. As with unfractionated hypercholesterolemic serum, macrophages incubated with the adsorbed beta-VLDL-containing fraction accumulated large amounts of cellular sterol. Monocyte-macrophages cultured in vitro for 21 hr, in contrast to extravascular macrophages, closely regulated their cellular sterol, primarily by limiting the rate of sterol influx.     

Cholesterol synthesis in vivo and in vitro in the WHHL rabbit, an animal with defective low density lipoprotein receptors

These studies were undertaken to measure rates of synthesis of digitonin-precipitable sterols in vivo and in vitro in control rabbits (New Zealand (NZ) control) and in homozygous Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits (WHHL) that lack receptors for low density lipoproteins (LDL). The plasma cholesterol concentration in NZ control fetuses equaled 79 mg/dl, rose to 315 mg/dl 12 days after birth, and fell to 80 mg/dl in young adult animals. At these same ages, cholesterol concentrations in the WHHL animals equal 315, 625, and 715 mg/dl, respectively. The rate of whole animal sterol synthesis in vivo, expressed as the mumol of [3H]water incorporated into sterols per hr per kg of body weight, was lower in the WHHL animals than in the NZ controls both in the fetuses (108 vs 176) and in the adult animals (48 vs 66). In adult NZ controls the content of newly synthesized sterols (rate of sterol synthesis) per g of tissue was highest in the liver (538 nmol/g per hr), adrenal gland (438), small bowel (371), and ovary (225) while lower rates of synthesis were found in 15 other tissues. In the WHHL rabbits a higher content of [3H]sterols was found only in the adrenal gland (2,215) while synthesis was suppressed in the liver (310), colon, lung, and kidney, and was unchanged in the remaining organs. These findings were confirmed by measurements of rates of sterol synthesis in the same tissues in vitro. When whole organ weight was taken into consideration, the tissues that were the major contributors to whole body sterol synthesis in both types of rabbits were liver, small bowel, skin, and carcass. However, it was the lower rate of synthesis in the liver of the WHHL animals that alone accounted for the lower rate of whole animal sterol synthesis seen in these rabbits. These studies demonstrate that in WHHL animals that lack LDL receptors and that have very high levels of circulating LDL cholesterol, the rate of cholesterol synthesis in nearly all tissues is normal but in the liver is significantly suppressed. Only the adrenal gland manifested enhanced synthesis. Such findings suggest that in the WHHL rabbit where LDL receptor activity is reduced and plasma LDL levels rise, mechanisms other than receptor-mediated LDL uptake may act to deliver cholesterol to the cells of the various organs and to the liver.     

Adult sterol metabolism is not affected by a positive sterol balance in the neonatal Golden Syrian hamster

Dietary components impact metabolism early in life. Some of the diet-induced effects are long lasting and can lead to various adult-based diseases. In the current studies, we examined the short-term effects of dietary cholesterol on neonatal hepatic sterol metabolism and the long-term effects that those early-life diets had on sterol metabolism in adulthood. Neonatal hamsters began consuming solid food as a supplement to milk by 5 days of age; diets contained 0 or 2% added cholesterol (wt/wt). By 10 days of age, plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations were 3.2- and 2.5-fold greater, respectively, in the neonates fed cholesterol. Hepatic sterol synthesis rates were suppressed 65% in cholesterol-fed neonates compared with control neonates. By 20 days of age, plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations were still greater and sterol synthesis rates were now suppressed maximally in neonates fed cholesterol compared with control neonates. The expression level of an apolipoprotein B-containing lipoprotein receptor (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein) was greater and the mature form of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 was similar in livers of 20-day-old control neonates compared with control neonates at 10 days of age. To test whether the change in sterol balance in the neonatal period had a lasting effect on hepatic sterol metabolism, all animals were weaned on a low-cholesterol diet. At 70 days of age, hepatic sterol synthesis rates, plasma lipoprotein and liver cholesterol concentrations, and bile acid pool sizes and compositions were measured. Sterol balance in the adults was similar between animals fed either diet early in life, as demonstrated by a lack of difference in any parameter measured. Thus, even though dietary cholesterol suppressed hepatic sterol synthesis rates dramatically in the neonatal hamster, the change has little impact on sterol balance later in life.     

Effect of maternal hypercholesterolemia on fetal sterol metabolism in the Golden Syrian hamster.

The fetus obtains a significant amount of cholesterol from de novo synthesis. Studies have suggested that maternal cholesterol may also contribute to the cholesterol accrued in the fetus. Thus, the present studies were completed to determine whether diet-induced maternal hypercholesterolemia would affect fetal sterol metabolism. To accomplish this, maternal plasma cholesterol concentrations were increased sequentially by feeding hamsters 0.0%, 0.12%, 0.5%, and 2.0% cholesterol. At 11 days into a gestational period of 15.5 days, cholesterol concentrations and sterol synthesis rates were measured in the three fetal tissues: the placenta, yolk sac, and fetus. In the placenta and yolk sac, the cholesterol concentration increased significantly when dams were fed as little as 0.12% cholesterol (P < 0.0167), and sterol synthesis rates decreased in dams fed at least 0.5% or 2% cholesterol, respectively (P < 0.0167). In the fetus, changes in fetal cholesterol concentration and sterol synthesis rates occurred only when dams were fed at least 0.5% cholesterol, which corresponded to a greater than 2-fold increase in maternal plasma cholesterol concentrations. When the cholesterol concentration in the fetal tissues in each animal was plotted as a function of maternal plasma cholesterol concentration, a linear relationship was found (P < 0.001).These studies demonstrate that sterol homeostasis in fetal tissues, including the fetus, is affected by maternal plasma cholesterol concentration in a gradient fashion and that sterol metabolism in the fetus is dependent on sterol homeostasis in the yolk sac and/or placenta.     

Effect of cellulose in the diet on the recovery of dietary plant sterols from the feces

In one normal subject, J.S., fed several formula diets in a sterol balance study, only 25-58% of the ingested plant sterols were recovered from the stool. The dietary plant sterols were completely recovered from the stools of five other men. Plant sterol recovery was complete in all men when a diet of mixed general foods was consumed. Since the chief differences in composition of the formula and the diet of mixed general foods were related to the different contents of cellulose and lactose, these components were added to the formula diet of J.S., and plant sterol balance studies were then carried out. The addition of fresh celery or pulverized cellulose to the formula diet partially corrected the usual fecal loss of plant sterols (80% being recovered). Lactose in the formula was only slightly corrective. However, the addition of both cellulose and lactose led to complete recovery of the ingested plant sterols in the feces. Bacterial cultures of stools were incubated with added cholesterol-4-(14)C, and a linear relationship between losses of sterol during balance studies and in vitro incubations was observed; that is, a considerable loss of the labeled cholesterol from cultures after the formula diet, but not after the diet of mixed general foods. This in vitro loss was also corrected by the addition of cellulose and lactose to the formula diet. The loss of the sterol nucleus in the intestinal tract may occur at times because of the lack of certain dietary constituents. It is hypothesized that the metabolism of intestinal tract bacteria is altered when certain constituents are not present in the diet, and that these bacteria may then degrade the sterol nucleus.     

Effect of coconut oil on plasma apo A-I levels in WHHL and NZW rabbits

Age-matched Watanabe (WHHL) and New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were fed a coconut oil-enriched diet (14%, w/w) for 2 weeks. Lipid and apolipoprotein (apo) A-I levels in plasma and lipoprotein fractions were monitored. Within 3 days after the start of the coconut oil diet, plasma apo A-I and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-apo A-I levels increased 3-fold in the WHHL rabbits. A smaller but significant increase (63%) in apo A-I and HDL-apo A-I levels was also observed in the NZW rabbits. HDL cholesterol levels also increased from 16 +/- 3 mg/dl during a regular diet to 46 +/- 16 mg/dl (288%) during the coconut oil diet in the WHHL rabbits and from 37 +/- 7 mg/dl to 69 +/- 19 mg/dl (186%), respectively, in the NZW rabbits. Apo A-I and HDL cholesterol levels fell sharply to the original levels soon after switching back to a regular diet (within 3 days for WHHL rabbits and within 5 days for NZW rabbits). The fractional catabolic rate calculated from 125I-HDL kinetic studies indicated that the turnover rate for HDL was significantly slower in WHHL rabbits fed the coconut oil diet than the control diet (0.018 +/- 0.004 h-1 vs. 0.027 +/- 0.007 h-1, P less than 0.01). No changes were found in the NZW rabbits fed either diet. Trilaurin, the main component of the coconut oil (46.9%) supplemented diet (6.5%, w/w), was also used in this study. The effect of trilaurin on plasma apo A-I and HDL-cholesterol levels is discussed.     

Effects of dietary carbohydrate intake on antioxidant enzyme activity and copper status in the copper-deficient streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rat

The aim of this study was to investigate how dietary lactose, compared with sucrose, in association with copper deficiency influences the antioxidant and copper status in the diabetic rat. Two groups of male rats (n = 12) were fed copper-deficient diets containing either 300 g/kg of sucrose or 300 g/kg of lactose in a pair-feeding regime for 35 days. Six rats from each group were injected with streptozotocin to induce diabetes. After a further 16 days the animals were killed and the liver, heart, and kidney removed for the measurement of copper levels and the activities of antioxidant and related enzymes. Diabetes resulted in higher hepatic and renal copper levels compared with controls. The copper content of the heart and kidney in diabetic rats consuming sucrose was also significantly higher than in those consuming lactose. Catalase activity in the liver, heart, and kidney was significantly increased in diabetic rats compared with controls. Hepatic glutathione S-transferase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and cardiac copper zinc superoxide dismutase activities were also higher in diabetes. Sucrose, compared with lactose feeding, resulted in higher cytochrome c oxidase and glutathione peroxidase activities in the kidney while glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was lower. The combination of lactose feeding and diabetes resulted in significantly higher activities of cardiac managanese superoxide dismutase and catalase and renal manganese superoxide dismutase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. These results suggest that sucrose consumption compared with lactose appears to be associated with increased organ copper content and in general decreased antioxidant enzyme activities in copper-deficient diabetic rats.     

Biological aspects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amblyomma brasiliense</Emphasis> (Acari: Ixodidae) under laboratory conditions

Although Amblyomma brasiliense Aragão 1908 has been reported as one of the most aggressive ticks to humans in Brazil, information about the biology of this tick species is virtually inexistent. This work reports data on the life cycle of A. brasiliense fed on rabbits and pigs and maintained in an incubator at 20°C, 90% RH and 12 h of light for off-host development. Tick yield of adult females fed on pigs and rabbits was 81.2% and 58.3%, respectively. Females fed on pigs had mean engorgement weight of 862.3 mg and egg mass of 208 mg, while females fed on rabbits had mean engorgement weight of 606.1 mg and egg mass of 160 mg; these values did not differ statistically between host species. Feeding period of female ticks fed on pigs (10 days) was significantly shorter than that on rabbits (17 days). Mean preoviposition period was slightly longer (35.9 days) for ticks fed on pigs than on rabbits (30 days). The minimum incubation period of eggs of ticks from both host species was similar and over 100 days. Egg production efficiency was low for females fed on both hosts (less than 30% and 20% for ticks from pigs and rabbits, respectively). More than 55% of larvae and 79% of nymphs fed on rabbits, set free inside the feeding chambers, engorged successfully. These ticks attained an engorgement weight of 1.3 and 18.2 mg, respectively, and fed for approximately 5 days. The minimum pre-molt period was 30 days for engorged larvae and over 44 days for nymphs. Molting success was low, less than 50% in the case of larvae and less than 20% for nymphs. Further studies are required to better determine the off-host requirements of this tick species.     

Thyroid function and lipid metabolism in rats treated with lithium and cholesterol deficient Nath diet

The administration of drinking-water, added with LiCl (20mg Li+/l) to rats fed on "atherogenic" diet without cholesterol (casein 20% hydrogenated coconut oil 25%, sucrose 49.1%) for 90 days, elicits an expressive diminution of haematic lipids (triglycerides, free fatty acids, total cholesterol) and hepatic cholesterol. The serum dosages of thyroid hormones T3 and T4 show that the Li+ concentration used in the experiment do not inhibit the glandular functions.     

Cholecystectomy prevents expansion of the bile acid pool and inhibition of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase in rabbits fed cholesterol

To study the effect of cholecystectomy on the regulation of classic and alternative bile acid syntheses, gallbladder-intact (n = 20) and cholecystectomized (n = 20) New Zealand White rabbits were fed either chow or chow with 2% cholesterol (3 g/day). After 10 days, bile fistulas were constructed in half of each rabbit group to recover and measure the bile acid pool and biliary bile acid flux. After cholesterol feeding, the bile acid pool size increased from 268 +/- 55 to 444 +/- 77 mg (P < 0.01) with a 2-fold rise in the biliary bile acid flux in intact rabbits but did not expand the bile acid pool (270 +/- 77 vs. 276 +/- 62 mg), nor did the biliary bile acid flux increase in cholecystectomized rabbits. Ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter protein increased 46% from 93 +/- 6 to 136 +/- 23 units/mg (P < 0.01) in the intact rabbits but did not change in cholecystectomized rabbits (104 +/- 14 vs. 99 +/- 19 units/mg) after cholesterol feeding. Cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase activity was inhibited 59% (P < 0.001) while cholesterol 27-hydroxylase activity rose 83% (P < 0.05) after cholesterol feeding in the intact rabbits but neither enzyme activity changed significantly in cholesterol-fed cholecystectomized rabbits. Fecal bile acid outputs reflecting bile acid synthesis increased significantly in the intact but not in the cholecystectomized rabbits fed cholesterol.Removal of the gallbladder prevented expansion of the bile acid pool after cholesterol feeding as seen in intact rabbits because ileal bile acid transport did not increase. As a result, cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase was not inhibited.     

Critical analysis of the use of 14C-acetate for measuring in vivo rat cholesterol synthesis

The bulk of cholesterol produced by the liver and the gut enters the mobile pool of body cholesterol. This process is called internal secretion in contrast with the fraction of biosynthesized cholesterol directly eliminated in the feces (fecal external secretion). In rats, under various conditions, a linear relationship was found between the rates of internal secretion measured by the isotope equilibrium method (range: 10-60 mg/day) and the sum of sterol radioactivities measured in liver and intestine 70 min after a [14C]-acetate pulse. In fact, a better correlation was found between the radioactivities of liver sterols and the values for internal secretion. In this new relationship, the ordinate at the origin corresponds to a minimal internal secretion of about 10 mg/day, which implies an important extrahepatic cholesterol production, probably from the gut. Indeed, in adult male rats, fed a semi-purified sucrose-rich diet, the relative contribution of this organ to the internal secretion was higher than in adult rats fed a commercial diet and higher than in young animals, whatever the circadian period. It can be concluded that some of the discrepancies observed in the literature about the relative participation of the intestine and the liver in the internal secretion of cholesterol are probably due to differences in experimental and nutritional conditions (age and sex of the animals, diet composition, time of the circadian cycle) rather than to the cholesterol precursor used (3H2O or [14C] acetate) to assess the activity of cholesterol synthesis. Indeed, a comparative study of 3H2O and [14C]acetate incorporation into sterols of enterocytes indicated the same crypt-villus radioactive gradient, regardless of the intestinal site studied (duodenum, jejunum or ileum) and thus validated the use of [14C]acetate. Other experiments however, showed evidence of some local differences in the cytosolic dilution of labeled acetyl CoA by the endogenous cholesterol precursor in rats under various conditions (control or cholestyramine-enriched diet, parenteral nutrition). After intravenous infusion of 1,2[13C]acetate, mass fragmentography of free cholesterol isolated from liver and intestine indicated different 13C-labeling patterns of newly synthesized molecules. They indicate that cholesterol is generally synthesized from acetyl CoA with a lower 13C-content in the liver than in the intestine. The local endogenous flow of acetyl CoA used for cholesterol synthesis was about 2-fold higher in the hepatocytes than in the enterocytes. This conclusion was confirmed by the results obtained with several experimental groups exhibiting a large range of both internal secretion of cholesterol and sterol radioactivities in liver and intestine after [14C]acetate injection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Cholesterol catabolism in the rabbit in fasted and fed states.

Urinary and fecal endogenous steroid excretion of fed or fasted New Zealand white rabbits was determined by the isotopic steady state method after subcutaneous implantation of radioactive cholesterol. While plasma cholesterol was increasing during a 9-day fast, fecal steroid excretion decreased to 10% of the excretion rates in the fed state. Refeeding the fasted rabbits led to a decrease in plasma cholesterol and an increase in fecal endogenous steroid excretion. Urinary steroid excretion, which represented 18% of total endogenous steroid excretion for fed animals, decreased during fasting and increased during refeeding, but these changes were relatively small. The small intestine, cecum, and colon of fed or fasted rabbits had similar endogenous steroid was acidic steroid. During attempts to alter the circulating bile acid concentration by supplying deoxycholate (200 mg/day) to fed rabbits or cholestyramine (2 g/day) to fasted rabbits, plasma cholesterol concentration did not change to the same extent as during fasting or refeeding, respectively. The decreased cholesterol catabolism and the hypercholesterolemia that are seen in the fasting rabbit may result from decreased clearance of plasma cholesterol.     

Physiological Effects of Nondialyzable Melanoidin in Rats

The absorption and excretion of melanoidins, a mixture of the low- and high-molecular weight components (LMM and HMM), and the LMM component prepared from a l-lysine^d-glucose system, at pH 7.4 and 9.0, respectively, and the effects of these melanoidins on cholesterol metabolism were examined in rats. Weanling male rats of the Wistar strain weighing about 50 g were fed diets containing 10% casein (10C) with 3% of a melanoidin or 25% casein (25C) with 4% of the melanoidin for 12 weeks, and the 25C diet including 3% of the melanoidin or LMM for 8 weeks. The growth and organ weights of the melanoidin-supplied groups were not different from those of the control ones. In rats given the melanoidin diets with both protein levels, the kidneys became dark brownish due to the accumulation of the melanoidin, though the accumulated amount was extremely small (nearly 0.5 mg/g wet kidney), and gel filtration chromatography of a water extract of the kidneys on Sephadex G-75 showed that the deposited melanoidin was the LMM component. Most of the ingested melanoidin, however, was excreted in the feces, and on comparison of the gel chromatographic patterns, the melanoidin groups were found to have more fecal LMM than the control ones. When rats were provided with LMM, HMM increased in their feces. The addition of melanoidin suppressed the level of plasma total cholesterol and elevated the fecal excretion of total lipids and total cholesterol. The urinary contents of protein and total creatinine did not differ from those in the control groups.     

Cholesterol lowering action of HOE 402 in the normolipidemic and hypercholesterolemic Golden Syrian hamster

The potent hypolipidemic activity of HOE 402 (4-amino-2-(4,4-dimethyl-2-oxo-l-imidazolidinyl)pyrimidine-5-N-(trifluoromethylphenyl)carboxamide monohydrochloride), which was previously demonstrated in rat and rabbit, was investigated in noncholesterol and cholesterol fed male hamsters. In normolipidemic hamsters fed a low cholesterol chow diet containing 0.10% or 0.15% HOE 402 for 3 weeks, the plasma total cholesterol level fell by 13% and 20% respectively, but no effect on hepatic total cholesterol content was detected. Hepatic sterol synthesis was increased 3-fold in hamsters fed 0.15% HOE 402. In hamsters fed a chow diet containing 0.25% cholesterol for 3 weeks, the plasma cholesterol level increased to 226 mg/dl (compared to 123 mg/dl in their chow fed controls) and the liver cholesterol content was 26.2 mg/g compared to 2.3 mg/g in the control group. However, 0.15% HOE 402 led to a 48% reduction and 0.20% HOE 402 to a 80% reduction, in total hepatic cholesterol concentration. There was a 43% fall in plasma cholesterol level being observed with the higher HOE 402 dose. Using the dual isotope plasma ratio method, no inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption by HOE 402 was found, either in the noncholesterol fed or in the cholesterol fed hamsters. Cholesterol feeding diminished the whole LDL animal clearance to 393 ± 17 μl/h per 100 g animal (control 666 ± 81 μl/h per 100 g). When treated with 0.20% HOE 402, the whole animal LDL clearance rate was enhanced 2.3-fold to 824 ± 66 μl/h per 100 g. In the hamsters fed 0.25% cholesterol alone whole liver LDL receptor activity was suppressed to 63 ± 5%, compared to that in the untreated controls (100%). The addition of 0.20% HOE 402 to the cholesterol enriched diet not only reversed this suppression, but resulted in a marked stimulation of liver receptor activity to 165 ± 15% (whole body LDL receptor activity 141 ± 10%). These results indicate that HOE 402 exerts its lipid lowering effect by a more direct activation on hepatic LDL receptor activity rather than by an indirect intestinal effect on cholesterol absorption.     

Quantification of cholesterol absorption in man by fecal analysis after the feeding of a single isotope-labeled meal

The fecal excretion of cholesterol-4-(14)C and -sitosterol-22,23-(3)H has been studied in normal human subjects after they had ingested a single meal containing the radioactive substances. When 150 mg of -sitosterol, dispersed in the butter of a standard breakfast, was fed to 20 subjects the mean recovery of isotope in the feces was 90%. When plant sterols (70% -sitosterol, 30% campesterol) were fed together with cholesterol and used as an internal standard to correct for losses of cholesterol during intestinal transit and analytical procedures, excretion of dietary cholesterol was found to be 60-80%, irrespective of the amount fed over the range 150-1910 mg. If absorption of cholesterol is calculated from these figures, no saturation of the cholesterol absorption mechanism is indicated for the amounts of cholesterol fed in this investigation. The reason for the differences between these findings and those previously reported by other procedures is not clear, but may be related to the acute administration of a single dose of cholesterol in this study.