Mode of action of probucol in reducing serum cholesterol in mice

The mode of action of probucol in reducing serum cholesterol was studied in normal and cholesterol-fed mice. Probucol did not affect intestinal absorption of radioactive cholesterol in normal and cholesterol-fed mice. In normal mice, probucol treatment resulted in inhibition of incorporation of [14C]-acetate into cholesterol in the liver, while it stimulated the incorporation in the small intestines. Incorporation of [14C]-mevalonate into cholesterol was not affected by the treatment. These results were consistent with the finding that the HMG-CoA reductase activity was decreased in the liver, but increased in the intestinal tissues of the treated mice. In cholesterol-fed mice, probucol treatment had no effect on cholesterol synthesis in the liver, while it increased the intestinal cholesterol synthesis. The over-all effect of this drug on cholesterol synthesis was not significant, although it tended to be inhibitory in normal mice and stimulatory in cholesterol-fed mice. On the other hand, probucol treatment resulted in acceleration of the clearance of [14C]-cholesterol-derived radioactivity from the circulation and resulted also in a significant increase in fecal excretion of the radioactivity, cholesterol and bile acids without changes in lipid composition of the bile. Cholesterol content in and radioactivity distribution among the tissues were not affected by probucol. Hepatic cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity was increased by probucol. These findings indicate that probucol lowers serum cholesterol mainly by increasing catabolic excretion of cholesterol into bile.