Cholesterol ester formation in aortas of cholesterol-fed rabbits

Summary Intravenous injection of [ 14 C]acetate into cholesterol-fed rabbits from which liver, intestine and kidneys had been removed resulted in a rapid incorporation of 14 C into aortic cholesterol ester fatty acids whereas little or no 14 C was incorporated into the non-saponifiable fraction. Most of the label was found in saturated fatty acids and in monoenes. Incubation of aortic strips in serum labeled with [ 14 C]palmitate and [ 3 H] cholesterol resulted in a much more rapid incorporation of [ 14 C]palmitate than of [ 3 H]cholesterol into the aortic cholesterol ester fraction. A similar result was obtained after injection of [ 14 C]palmitate and [ 14 C]cholesterol into a cholesterol-fed animal. The hypothesis that in cholesterol-fed rabbits serum fatty acids penetrate more rapidly than serum cholesterol to the sites of esterification in the arterial wall is discussed.