Cholesterol Transfer and Content in Aortic Regions with Defined Endothelial Integrity from Rabbits with Moderate Hypercholesterolemia

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Abstract
To investigate the effect of hypercholesterolemia on cholesterol transfer and retention in the arterial wall in relationship to the endothelial cell layer, moderate hypercholesterolemia was induced in rabbits by the addition of 0.1–0.3% cholesterol in the diet. In arterial tissue with intact endothelium, hypercholesterolemia up to 400 mg% did not affect free cholesterol levels. As the uptake of free cholesterol increased in parallel to serum cholesterol, the elimination of cholesterol must also have increased. In segments with defective endothelium, the free cholesterol content increased in proportion to serum cholesterol, indicating that the potential to maintain constant free cholesterol levels was related to endothelial integrity. Tissue cholesteryl ester increased with increasing serum cholesterol regardless of endothelial integrity. However, the increase was more rapid in tissue underlying defective endothelium, suggesting that also for cholesteryl ester the intact arterial endothelium constitutes an important barrier for influx and retention.

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