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Journal ArticleDOI

Physiological role of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase.

01 Aug 1970-The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr)-Vol. 23, Iss: 8, pp 1129-1136
About: This article is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.The article was published on 1970-08-01. It has received 188 citations till now.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The major potent lipid risk factor was HDL cholesterol, which had an inverse association with the incidence of coronary heart disease in either men or women and these associations were equally significant even when other lipids and other standard risk factors for coronaryHeart disease were taken into consideration.

5,054 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The body cholesterol pool increases with decreasing plasma-high-density-lipoprotein (H.D.L.) but is unrelated to the plasma concentrations of total cholesterol and other lipoproteins, and it is proposed that a reduction of plasma-H.H.L.D., is reduced in several conditions associated with an increased risk of future ischaemic heart-disease, by impairing the clearance of cholesterol from the arterial wall.

2,626 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The previous position that virtually all of the lipid information pertaining to coronary heart disease resided in the serum total cholesterol must be accordingly modified.
Abstract: Prospective data at Framingham and elsewhere have shown conclusively that risk of coronary heart disease in persons younger than age 50 is strikingly related to the serum total cholesterol level. Within so-called normal limits risk has been found to mount over a 5-fold range. The impact has been found to be augmented by other risk factors. The contribution of the serum total cholesterol to risk has also been found to be determined by its partition in the various lipoprotein fractions. A relatively large amount of cholesterol in the low-density lipoprotein fraction is atherogenic whereas that in the high-density fraction appears protective. The independent contribution of very-low-density lipoprotein and its triglyceride or cholesterol content has on the other hand not been established. The previous position that virtually all of the lipid information pertaining to coranary heart disease resided in the serum total cholesterol must be accordingly modified. (authors)

1,298 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Elevated plant sterol levels in the blood and tissues of two sisters with extensive tendon xanthomas but normal plasma cholesterol levels are reported, suggesting that increased absorption of beta-sitosterol must be considered as one cause of this disease.
Abstract: Although the usual diet may contain 150-250 mg of plant sterols, chiefly beta-sitosterol, only trace amounts of these sterols have heretofore been found in human or animal blood and tissues. We now report elevated plant sterol levels in the blood and tissues of two sisters with extensive tendon xanthomas but normal plasma cholesterol levels. Besides beta-sitosterolemia and xanthomatosis, no other physical, mental, or biochemical abnormalities were detected.Repeatedly, the plasmas of the two sisters have contained 27.1 and 17.7 mg/100 ml of beta-sitosterol, 9.7 and 8.2 mg/100 ml of campesterol, and 0.5 and 0.5 mg/100 ml of stigmasterol, respectively. These plant sterols constituted 15.6 and 11.3% of the total plasma sterols. Some 60% of the plasma beta-sitosterol and campesterol was esterified; the measurable stigmasterol was entirely unesterified. The transport of the plasma beta-sitosterol and campesterol was largely in low density lipoproteins (76 and 83%, respectively). High density lipoproteins carried the remainder. Plant sterols were barely detectable in the very low density lipoprotein fraction. Only trace amounts of stigmasterol could be detected in the low density and high density lipoprotein fractions. The plant sterol content of the red blood cells averaged 12-13 mg/100 ml packed cells or about 13% of the total sterols. Two tendon xanthoma biopsies with the usual high concentration of cholesterol had 36.7 and 4.0 mg of plant sterols/g dry wt, of which 25.7 and 2.9 mg were beta-sitosterol, entirely in the free form. Plant sterols were also found in adipose tissue (0.2 mg/g wet wt) and in skin surface lipids (3.2 mg/g of lipid). The intestinal absorption of beta-sitosterol in both the patients, measured by two techniques, indicated greatly increased absorption of this sterol (about 24 and 28% in the patients L. H. and R. H., respectively, normal absorption being <5%). We suggest that increased absorption of beta-sitosterol must be considered as one cause of this disease. The reason for the extensive xanthomatosis in these two patients remains unknown. Perhaps in some way plant sterols initiated the development of xanthomas with otherwise normal plasma cholesterol levels. Clinical atherosclerosis has not yet occurred. The occurrence of beta-sitosterolemia in these two sisters with un-affected parents suggests an inherited recessive trait.

549 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The influence of enzymes such as lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase and hepatic lipase on the direction of net transfer of free cholesterol between lipoproteins and cells can be understood in terms of their effects on the pool sizes and the rate constants for influx and efflux.

536 citations