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The effects of dietary coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on cholesterol metabolism in laying hens were investigated. Dietary CoQ10 significantly reduced egg yolk cholesterol content and suppressed hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) activity. It is therefore likely that CoQ10 acts as an HMGR inhibitor in the livers of laying hens, which in turn results in a reduction in egg-yolk cholesterol.

Fibric acid derivatives have been demonstrated to reduce circulating lipoprotein and triacylglycerol concentrations and to inhibit hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase, a key regulatory enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. This study describes the effect of four fibric acid derivatives on the biosynthesis of isoprenoid products from acetate and mevalonate in Molt-4 cells, a human leukemic T-lymphocyte cell line. The isoprenoids analyzed were cholesterol as well as dolichol and ubiquinone, alternative products of the branched isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway. None of the fibric acid derivatives showed significant effects on the synthesis of cholesterol from acetate or mevalonate and there was little change in the flux of these metabolites into either dolichol and ubiquinone compared to cells grown in drug-free medium. Therefore, in contrast to the reported inhibitory effects of fibric acids on hepatic sterol synthesis in rats and humans and on hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase activity in human nonmalignant lymphocytes, our results show that these drugs do not significantly affect any of the post-reductase enzymes in the branched metabolic pathways leading from acetate to dolichol, ubiquinone and cholesterol in short term culturing of human malignant lymphocytes.

In alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate-treated mice, plasma phospholipid (PL) levels were elevated 10- and 13-fold at 48 and 168 h, respectively, whereas free cholesterol (FC) levels increased between 48 h (17-fold) and 168 h (39-fold). Nearly all of these lipids were localized to lipoprotein X-like particles in the low-density lipoprotein density range. The PL fatty acyl composition was indicative of biliary origin. Liver cholesterol and PL content were near normal at all time points. Hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase activity was increased sixfold at 48 h, and cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase activity was decreased by approximately 70% between 24 and 72 h. These findings suggest a metabolic basis for the appearance of abnormal plasma lipoproteins during cholestasis. Initially, PL and bile acids appear in plasma where they serve to promote the efflux of cholesterol from hepatic cell membranes. Hepatic cholesterol synthesis is then likely stimulated in the response to the depletion of hepatic cell membranes of cholesterol. We speculate that the enhanced synthesis of cholesterol and impaired conversion to bile acids, particularly during the early phase of drug response, contribute to the accumulation of FC in the plasma.

The activity of microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), obtained from cultured human IM-9 lymphoid cells or freshly isolated human peripheral blood leukocytes, is modulated by a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation mechanism. Addition of MgATP + ADP to IM-9 cell microsomal reductase leads to a time-dependent loss of enzyme activity. Inactivated reductase is reactivated by rat liver reductase phosphatase. Kinase-dependent IM-9 cell microsomal reductase, prepared by heating IM-9 microsomes for 15 min at 50 degrees C, is inactivated in the presence of MgATP and ADP only after addition of cytosolic reductase kinase from either IM-9 cells, freshly isolated leukocytes or rat liver. Inactivation is time-dependent and dependent on the cytosolic protein concentration. Inactivated reductase is reactivated by rat liver reductase phosphatase. For cultured IM-9 cells and freshly isolated leukocytes incubated with culture medium for 2 h, the ratios of active (unphosphorylated) to total (phosphorylated + unphosphorylated) reductase activity are 0.22 and 0.43, respectively. Thus, in addition to its regulation by changes in the amount of total enzyme protein, human leukocyte reductase activity is also modulated by a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation mechanism.

We examined the effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), in liver and small intestine of rats. During the acute phase of insulin deficiency (first day), food intake, plasma cholesterol, and reductase specific activity in liver all decreased. By 3 days, food intake, plasma cholesterol, and reductase activity in small intestine were all increasing. After 1 week, total reductase activity in small intestine was 2.5 times normal, whereas activity in liver remained low. Thus diabetes shifted the major site of cholesterol synthesis from the liver to the small intestine. These data support the proposal that hyperphagia by diabetic rats leads to increased input of both dietary and newly synthesized cholesterol by the small intestine into thoracic lymph and thereby contributes significantly to their hypercholesterolemia. The possibility that diabetes affected the F--inhibitable activation of reductase in vitro was also tested. There was no evidence of an effect in small intestine, but activation of reductase in vitro was decreased by 1/3 in liver. These data suggest that, in liver, either the activity of the activator was decreased or the fraction of reductase in the active state was increased after more than 12 hr of insulin deficiency.

The effect of 26-hydroxycholesterol and other intermediates in bile acid synthesis on HMG-CoA reductase activity was studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture. Incubation of CHO cells for 5 hr in 0.25 microM 26-hydroxycholesterol caused a 40% inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase activity. All other intermediates tested including 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid and cholest-5-ene-3 beta,7 alpha,26-triol, oxidation products of 26-hydroxycholesterol, had little or no inhibitory effect. It is proposed that 26-hydroxycholesterol has a selective biological role in the regulation of cholesterol synthesis.

Human platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been previously shown to stimulate low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor activity in cultured cells. Studies were conducted to delineate in detail the effects of PDGF on the LDL receptor pathway in normal human fibroblasts and to explore relationships between the effects of PDGF on LDL metabolism, on cholesterol metabolism, and on DNA synthesis. Increasing concentrations of PDGF stimulated parallel increases in both DNA synthesis and 125I-LDL cell surface binding. The effect of PDGF was due entirely to an increase (up to 4.3-fold) in the number of receptor sites per cell, and not to a change in receptor affinity (Kd approximately 2.0 nM). Parallel PDGF concentration-dependent increases in 125I-LDL binding, internalization, and degradation at 37 degrees C were observed. The results indicate that PDGF-stimulated cells metabolize receptor-bound LDL in a manner that is identical with that seen with quiescent cells. A single study with highly purified PDGF demonstrated that it was PDGF itself, and not some other component in the partially purified PDGF preparation used in most of this work, that was responsible for the observed effects. Studies were conducted on the effects of PDGF on hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase activity, on cholesterol esterification, and on down-regulation by LDL of the LDL receptor. These studies indicated that LDL cholesterol taken into the PDGF-stimulated cell via the receptor pathway, appeared to become available normally and to have metabolic effects within the cell similar to those seen in quiescent cells. Fibroblasts from subjects with familial hypercholesterolemia showed a normal mitogenic response to PDGF, despite the absence or near absence of an effect on the LDL receptor pathway. Finally, studies were also conducted with endothelial cell-conditioned medium (ECCM), used as a source of the endothelial cell-derived growth factor. ECCM was similar to PDGF in stimulating LDL binding, but differed strikingly from PDGF in that the degradation of internalized LDL was inhibited. As a result, ECCM-treated cells did not effectively increase cholesterol esterification or suppress hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase activity when LDL was present. These findings with substances produced by endothelial cells may have important implications for atherogenesis.

Studies were undertaken to determine whether the inhibitory effects upon hepatic sterol synthesis of cholesterol and a number of structurally and metabolically related steroids could be differentiated in terms of inhibitory potency when fed or injected or in terms of their effects upon the level of HMG-CoA reductase activity. The inhibitory potencies of cholesterol, cholest-4-en-3-one, cholesta-4,6-dien-3-one, cholestanone, and cholestanol were approximately equal and were greater than those of testosterone, androsta-4,6-dien-17β-ol-3-one, and progesterone when the steroids were fed at low or moderate levels in the diet. At the highest level of administration with the diet cholest-4-en-3-one and androsta-4,6-dien-17β-ol-3-one stimulated sterol synthesis from acetate. Intraperitoneal injection of cholest-4-en-3-one, cholesta-4,6-dien-3-one, testosterone, androsta-4,6-dien-17β-ol-3-one, or progesterone depressed the rate of sterol synthesis from acetate, whereas other steroids tested were inactive under these conditions. Depression of the rate of sterol synthesis from acetate by dietary or injected steroids was uniformly associated with a diminished level of HMG-CoA reductase activity.

Rats maintained on cholesterol-free diet and fed neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from blackgram showed lower concentrations of cholesterol in the serum, liver and aorta, when compared to those fed isocaloric, fiber-free diet. Incorporation of labeled precursors, [1,2(-14)C]acetate and [U-14C]glucose, into cholesterol of liver was higher in these rats. The activity of hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase was also increased. Concentration of cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid in the liver was also more in rats fed blackgram NDF. The decreased concentration of cholesterol in the tissues may be due to its higher rate of hepatic degradation to bile acids.

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity in fasting rats was almost doubled 12 h following a single dose (400 mg/kg) of the porphyrogenic chemical allylisopropylacetamide. This doubling effect of the drug on enzyme activity was observed during the basal period, as well as at midnight, when it is maximal in the diurnal rhythm. Cycloheximide, whether given alone or simultaneously with the drug, reduced the enzyme activity to very low levels. Actinomycin D administered alone prevented the normal rise in reductase activity which occurs at night; however, when administered with the drug, it inhibited but did not completely suppress the inducing effect of allylisopropylacetamide. These data suggest a requirement for protein synthesis to observe the stimulating effect of allylisopropylacetamide on hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity. A modification in the reductase assay is also described wherein the formation of mevalonolactone from mevalonic acid, the end-product of the assay, is maximized with 3 M HCl. Using this procedure, consistent yields of mevalonolactone in the 90% range are observed since the use of 3M HCl prevents dehydration of mevalonic acid to delta3, 4-methyl-delta-valerolactone.

The effects of insulin on the synthesis of sterols and fatty acids and on the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), a rate-limiting enzyme for sterol synthesis, were studied in mammalian cells grown in culture. While in some established cell lines sterol synthesis was not affected significantly by the hormone, in the nonpermanent human and animal cells the synthesis of lipids, especially that of sterols, as well as the activity of the reductase were stimulated following an incubation with insulin in a medium containing serum albumin for a few hours or longer. These effects of insulin were also demonstrable in the presence of solvent-extracted serum, which itself increases sterol synthesis and reductase activity. In medium containing whole serum insulin was ineffective. Addition of glucose decreased sterol synthesis as well as reductase activity. The effects of insulin were prevented by cycloheximide and are probably due to an increased synthesis of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase or of a protein that regulates its activity.

The activity of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase in rat liver microsomes was investigated under conditions favourable for phosphorylation-dephosphorylation. The enzyme activity was similar in the presence or absence of sodium fluoride during preparation. Preincubation with ATP and magnesium did not affect the enzyme activity. Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase was inhibited by alkaline phosphatase, but this inhibition was similar also after inactivation of the phosphatase. Under similar conditions, rat hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase activity was clearly modulated in agreement with phosphorylation-dephosphorylation. The absence of such a modulation of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase argues against involvement of phosphorylation-dephosphorylation in the regulation of this enzyme.