Sex difference in human mevalonate metabolism

Two pathways of mevalonate metabolism have been demonstrated: the major (sterol) pathway leads to cholesterol synthesis, whereas the second shunts mevalonate away from sterol production and ultimately results in its oxidation to CO2. Previous studies have demonstrated that the female rat metabolizes circulating mevalonate by the shunt pathway at twice the rate of the male, whereas the male rat converts significantly more circulating mevalonate to cholesterol than the female. The present study extends these observations to humans. Six men and five premenopausal women with normal renal function were injected with R,S-[5-14C]mevalonate, and 14CO2 expired in the breath of the subjects was monitored continuously with an ionization chamber. On an average, the female subjects expired 16.5% and the males 9.8% of the injected R-[5-14C]mevalonate (P less than 0.001). No differences were observed in the plasma and erythrocyte [14C]cholesterol levels. These data demonstrate, in human beings, a sex difference in mevalonate metabolism. The overall impact of the greater mevalonate shunt activity on cholesterol balance in women is unknown.