L-Histidine-Induced Facilitation of Cholesterol Biosynthesis in Rats

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Abstract
A diet supplemented 5% with L-histidine induces hypercholesterolemia in rats. To examine the mechanism involved, L-histidine was added to either a chow or fat-free diet and fed to rats for 18 days. After 2 days of fasting, the rats were refed the same diet for 3 days. There was a 9-fold increase in the incorporation of [14C] acetate into the nonsaponifiable fraction in the 5,000g hepatic fraction of histidine-supplemented chow-fed rats compared to controls. The increase in the incorporation of the labeled substrate into the digitonin-precipitable fraction was 7- to 8-fold. The incorporation of [14C]mevalonate was increased by 7-fold in both the nonsaponifiable and digitonin-precipitable fractions. Longterm histidine supplementation to fat-free diet did not affect the incorporation of either [14C] acetate or [14C] mevalonate into these fractions.