Abstract
The current studies were designed to determine whether chronic overexpression of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors in the liver would protect mice from the increase in plasma LDL-cholesterol that is induced by high-fat diets. A line of transgenic mice was studied that express the human LDL receptor gene in the liver under control of the transferrin promoter. When fed a diet containing cholesterol, saturated fat, and bile acids for 3 weeks, the transgenic mice, in contrast to normal mice, did not develop a detectable increase in plasma LDL. The current data indicate that unregulated overexpression of LDL receptors can protect against diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in mice.
Publication types
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
- Animals
- Cholesterol, Dietary / adverse effects
- Cholesterol, LDL / blood*
- Dietary Fats / adverse effects*
- Exons
- Gene Expression*
- Humans
- Hypercholesterolemia / etiology
- Hypercholesterolemia / prevention & control*
- Introns
- Lipoproteins / blood
- Lipoproteins, HDL / blood
- Lipoproteins, IDL
- Lipoproteins, VLDL / blood
- Liver / metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Transgenic
- Nucleic Acid Hybridization
- Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
- RNA, Messenger / genetics
- Receptors, LDL / genetics*
- Transferrin / genetics
Substances
- Cholesterol, Dietary
- Cholesterol, LDL
- Dietary Fats
- Lipoproteins
- Lipoproteins, HDL
- Lipoproteins, IDL
- Lipoproteins, VLDL
- RNA, Messenger
- Receptors, LDL
- Transferrin