Squalene, methyl sterol, and cholesterol levels in human organs. Postmortem analysis of their distributions

The postmortem tissue distribution of cholesterol precursors, squalene, and methyl sterols was quantitated in ten human subjects by the use of gas-liquid chromatography. Five methyl sterol subfractions were found, with each organ having a pattern of its own. The mean esterification percentage of the methyl sterol mixture tended to correlate with the methyl sterol concentration and was higher than that of cholesterol in each tissue; the ester percentage was lowest for a diunsaturated dimethyl sterol and highest for a monounsaturated dimethyl sterol. The squalene levels were very high in adipose tissues, while methyl sterols concentrated in organs that produce little cholesterol. The levels in cholesterolgenic tissues were not very high. Squalene level was not correlated with methyl sterol or cholesterol levels in any organs, while methyl sterol and cholesterol levels were highly significantly correlated in the gallbladder wall.