Influence of inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis on hepatic cholesterol concentrations and esterified to free cholesterol ratio*
| Treatment group | Total† (mg/g liver) | Free†(mg/g liver) | Esterified to free ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Analyses carried out at eight weeks on the lithogenic diet (LD). | |||
| †Hepatic cholesterol concentration assays were performed as described in the methods section. | |||
| ‡Significantly different compared with the C57 controls fed the LD. | |||
| Hepatic cholesterol homeostasis was markedly changed by Ro and Tu. Striking reductions in total cholesterol were noted with all doses of Ro; much less marked reductions were effected by Tu. As expected, simvastatin caused hepatic cholesterol levels to increase. Levels of unesterified cholesterol remained substantially unchanged. | |||
| C57 LD | 13.1 (0.9) | 0.86 (0.21) | 15.6 (3.1) |
| C57 simvastatin | 21.8 (1.7)‡ | 1.18 (0.24) | 22.2 (4) |
| p = 0.001 | |||
| Ro 30 | 4.9 (1.0)‡ | 0.51 (0.04) | 8.0 (1.3)‡ |
| p = 0.03 | p = 0.02 | ||
| Ro 60 | 6.0 (1.7)‡ | 0.76 (0.22) | 7.7 (2) |
| p = 0.01 | p = 0.003 | ||
| Ro 100 | 5.2 (1.4)‡ | 0.52 (0.07) | 9.0 (2.2) |
| p = 0.001 | |||
| Tu 30 | 10.6 (1.0) | 0.79 (0.08) | 13.6 (2.4) |
| Tu 60 | 9.4 (0.8) | 0.83 (0.07) | 10.9 (1.3) |