Effect of food intake on intestinal cholesterol synthesis in rats

The mechanism by which diabetes results in an increase in small intestinal cholesterol synthesis is unknown. Previous studies have demonstrated that limiting food intake prevents the increase in intestinal cholesterol synthesis, and it has therefore been proposed that the stimulation of cholesterol synthesis in the small intestine is secondary to the hyperphagia that is associated with poorly controlled diabetes. To shed further light on the role of hyperphagia we have studied the effect on cholesterol synthesis of a variety of conditions that increase food intake. In third-trimester pregnant animals, lactating animals, obese animals, and in animals infused intragastrically with 16 g glucose/day vs. 8 g glucose/day, we have observed that an increase in food intake is associated with an increase in small intestinal cholesterol synthesis. Furthermore, these findings support the hypothesis that hyperphagia is the chief stimulus for the increase in cholesterol synthesis in the small intestine of diabetic animals. Additional studies have demonstrated that simply increasing the bulk of food ingested by adding Alphacel to the diet does not alter cholesterol synthesis in the small intestine. Lastly, in animals in whom Thiry fistulas were surgically constructed we observed that cholesterol synthesis is increased in the diabetic animals in both the segment of the small intestine in contact with the food stream and the segment of the small intestine that is excluded from contact. This observation suggests that the direct contact of the intestinal mucosa with caloric sources is not the sole trigger for increasing small intestinal cholesterol synthesis in hyperphagic diabetic animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)