Canine Lipoproteins and Atherosclerosis

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Abstract
Characterization of the hyperlipoproteinemia induced by feeding high-cholesterol diets to hypothyroid dogs was undertaken in an attempt to identify a lipoprotein pattern or a specific lipoprotein responsible for the atherosclerosis associated with such hyperlipoproteinemia. Various degrees of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis were produced during the diet, which was imposed for 3 months to more than a year. Dogs referred to as hyporesponders did not develop significant atherosclerosis despite plasma cholesterol levels ranging from two to five times normal or up to 750 mg/100 ml. This nonatherogenic hyperlipidemia was characterized by an increase in the LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDLc classes (HDLc refers to a broad spectrum of cholesterol-enriched particles which resemble high density lipoproteins). Dogs referred to as hyperresponders developed significant and often complicated atherosclerosis. Their plasma cholesterol levels were in excess of 750 mg/100 ml, and most of the increased cholesterol w...