443 CONCENTRATION OF CHOLESTEROL IN DIFFERENT BODY POOLS OF MINI-PIGS FED ATHEROGENIC AND CONTROL DIETS

Abstract

Relationships of dietary cholesterol to its distribution and deposition in various tissues were studied in male mini-pigs fed isocaloric a high cholesterol-high fat (HC-HF) and control (C) diet from 30 through 55 weeks (wks) of age. Cholesterol was measured in serum at alternate wks throughout the study; in lipoprotein fractions, liver, muscle, and adipose tissue at the end of the experiment. Although cholesterol levels were higher in all tissues of HC-HF group, a statistically significant difference from the C group was observed only in case of cholesterol content of liver, serum and lipoprotein fractions. LDL and HDLc carried the highest amounts of cholesterol in the HC-HF group than the controls which had no HDLc. Cholesterol content of VLDL and HDL was also significantly greater in the HC-HF animals than the C group. A 4-fold increase in serum cholesterol was observed within 5 wks after feeding the HC-HF diet and a peak was reached within 15 wks followed by a significant decline to more or less a constant level after 40 wks of age despite a uniform daily intake of dietary cholesterol. It seems that the pig after 40 wks of age acquires some mechanism(s) to either metabolize dietary cholesterol more effectively or the endogenous synthesis of this steroid is decreased. (Supported from NIH grant (NS 06779-08) and Frank G. Bressler Research Fund.)