OBJECTIVE Characterization of cholesterol homeostasis in male mice with a genetic inactivation of 3beta-hydroxysteroid-delta24-reductase, causing replacement of almost all cholesterol with desmosterol. METHODS AND RESULTS There was an increase in hepatic sterol synthesis and markedly increased fecal loss of neutral sterols. Fecal excretion of bile acids was similar in knockout mice and in con...

Sitosterolemia and xanthomatosis together are a disease characterized by premature cardiovascular disease, and by elevated plasma concentrations of total sterols and of plant sterols, especially sitosterol which is hyperabsorbed. In order to determine whether this abnormal metabolism also involved other sterols, a patient with sitosterolemia was fed a diet high in shellfish that contain signifi...

Significant familial aggregation was observed for plasma levels of lathosterol (an indicator of whole-body cholesterol synthesis) and plant sterols campesterol and beta-sitosterol (indicators of cholesterol absorption) in 160 Dutch families consisting of adolescent mono- and dizygotic twin pairs and their parents. For lathosterol a moderate genetic heritability in parents and offspring (29%) wa...

Some oxidized forms of cholesterol (oxysterols) are thought to be atherogenic and cytotoxic. Because plant sterols are structurally related to cholesterol, we examined whether oxidized plant sterols (oxyphytosterols) could be identified in human serum and soy-based lipid emulsions. We first prepared both deuterated and nondeuterated reference compounds. We then analyzed by gas-liquid chromatogr...

Changes in the balance of cholesterol absorption and synthesis and moderately elevated plasma plant sterols have been suggested to be atherogenic. Measuring cholestanol, lathosterol, campesterol, and sitosterol, we investigated the relationships of cholesterol metabolism and plasma plant sterols with the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in 2,440 participants of the Ludwigshafen Risk an...

Plant sterols are compounds with multiple biological functions, mainly cholesterol-reducing. There no comprehensive databases on plant sterols, which makes it difficult to estimate their intake in the Polish population. This work attempted use international food databases, additionally supplemented by scientific data from literature, create a database of would cover various kinds foods and dish...

The impact of increased serum concentrations of plant sterols on cardiovascular risk is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether there is an association between serum concentrations of two common plant sterols (sitosterol, campesterol) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We systematically searched the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and COCHRANE for stud...

Lin et al 1 present an interesting study in which they tested the hypothesis that combining ezetimibe and phytosterols is more effective than ezetimibe treatment alone in reducing serum cholesterol. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, triple-crossover study, they found that combining ezetimibe with phytos-terols is more effective in reducing cholesterol levels than ezetimibe alon...

The Arabidopsis mutants fackel and sterol methyltransferase 1 have defects associated with body organization of the seedling. Molecular analysis of these mutants has revealed that plant sterols may be key signaling molecules influencing position-dependent cell fate during embryonic development.