The influence of an atherogenic, semisynthetic diet on cholesterol metabolism in rabbits

The influence of a cholesterol-free, semisynthetic diet on the cholesterol content and on the incorporation of radioacetate into cholesterol in liver, aorta and intestinal mucosa of the rabbit was tested over periods of 3 and 6 months. The incorporation of radioacetate in the liver reached a maximum after 3 months. In contrast to this, the rate of acetate incorporation in the aorta and mucosa continued to rise throughout the entire test period. The cholesterol level in serum ran parallel to the hepatic cholesterol synthesis reaching a maximum after 3 months. While the cholesterol content of the liver remained unchanged, it rose in the aorta and mucosa. These results favour the assumption that hypercholesterolemia was not due to a defect in removal of cholesterol from the plasma compartment, but to an increased biosynthesis.