PHYTOSTEROLS IN AORTIC TISSUE IN ADULTS AND INFANTS

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 88  (6) , 914-921
Abstract
Relationships between aortic tissue phytosterols and cholesterol in 5 adults, 5 infants, 2 neonates and one 30 wk abortus were studied. In the normal aortic tissue of the abortus and 2 neonates, tissue cholesterol levels were 0.67, 0.08 and 0.89 mg/g wet wt, respectively. Tissue phytosterol levels were as follows: campesterol (0.94, 0.62, 1.8), stigmasterol (0.18, 0.54, 0.80) and .beta.-sitosterol (0.78, 1.84, 2.80) .mu.g/g wet wt. In 11 aortic tissue samples from 5 infants studied at 3, 4, 6, 6 and 36 mo. of age, all having been on phytosterol-rich formulas, mean aortic cholesterol was 0.66 mg/g, campesterol 3.57, stigmasterol 9.22 and .beta.-sitosterol 8.93 .mu.g/g. In the 11 aortic samples from 5 infants mean (.+-. SE) tissue stigmasterol (9.2 .+-. 2.7) and .beta.-sitosterol (8.9 .+-. 1.3) were greater than mean levels (0.51 .+-. 0.18 and 1.8 .+-. 0.6) in the 4 aortic sections from the abortus and 2 neonates. Mean (.+-. SE) cholesterol in the 11 aortic sections from 5 infants (0.66 .+-. 0.11) was not significantly higher than cholesterol (0.55 .+-. 0.24 mg/g) in the 4 aortic sections from the abortus and 2 neonates, but was considerably higher than the tissue cholesterol level of 0.08 mg/g in 1 of the 2 neonates. Mean (.+-. SE) cholesterol in 11 normal aortic tissue sections from 5 adults (3.4 .+-. 0.7 mg/g) was higher than in the 5 infants; mean campesterol, stigmasterol and .beta.-sitosterol, respectively, 14, 13 and 16 .mu.g/g, were somewhat higher but generally comparable to infant levels. In 5 aortic tissue samples from mature atheromatous plaques in 2 adults cholesterol was 54 mg/g and mean campesterol, stigmasterol and .beta.-sitosterol were, respectively, 112, 167 and 236 .mu.g/g. In 15 aortic tissue samples from 5 adults, cholesterol correlated closely with stigmasterol, r = 0.865; .beta.-sitosterol, r = 0.918; and with total phytosterols, r = 0.938, P < 0.01, but not with campesterol, r = 0.448. In 11 aortic tissue samples from 5 infants cholesterol did not correlate with campesterol r = 0.005; stigmasterol, r = 0.006; .beta.-sitosterol, r = -0.099; or total phytosterols, r = -0.045. Prior to birth some phytosterois apparently cross the placenta. In the 1st several months of life vegetable-oil formula-fed infants accrue plant sterols in their aortic tissues. Moderate amounts of phytosterols are present in mature atheromatous lesions in adults. The implications of these findings are unknown, and their relationship to deposition of cholesterol in atheromatous and in normal aortic tissue remains to be elucidated.

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