Genetic differences in cholesterol absorption in 129/Sv and C57BL/6 mice: Effect on cholesterol responsiveness

This study compared the cholesterolemic response of two strains of mice with genetically determined differences in cholesterol absorption. When fed a basal low-cholesterol diet, 129/Sv mice absorbed cholesterol twice as efficiently as did C57BL/6 mice (44% vs. 20%). Total lipid absorption, in contrast, averaged 80-82% in both strains. The higher level of cholesterol absorption in the 129/Sv animals was reflected in an adaptive reduction in hepatic and intestinal sterol synthesis. When fed lipid-enriched diets, the 129/Sv mice became significantly more hypercholesterolemic and had twofold higher hepatic cholesterol concentrations than did the C57BL/6 animals even though the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids was stimulated equally in both strains. The difference in cholesterol absorption between these mouse strains was not the result of physicochemical factors relating to the size and composition of the intestinal bile acid pool but more likely reflects an inherited difference in one or more of the biochemical steps that facilitate the translocation of sterol across the epithelial cell.