Cholesterol synthesis by human fetal hepatocytes: effect of lipoproteins
Carr, B.R.; Simpson, E.R.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 150(5 Pt 1): 551-557
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9378 PMID: 6496586 Document Number: 232443
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of various lipoproteins on the rate of cholesterol synthesis of human fetal liver cells maintained in culture. This was accomplished by measuring the rate of incorporation of tritium from tritiated water or 14C-labeled acetate into cholesterol in human fetal liver cells. Optimal conditions for each assay were determined. When human fetal liver cells were maintained in the presence of low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol synthesis was inhibited in a concentration-dependent fashion. Intermediate-density lipoprotein and very-low density lipoprotein also suppressed cholesterol synthesis in human fetal liver cells. In contrast, high-density lipoprotein stimulated cholesterol synthesis in human fetal liver cells. The results of the present as well as previous investigations suggest that multiple interrelationships exist between fetal liver cholesterol synthesis and lipoprotein-cholesterol utilization by the human fetal adrenal gland and that these processes serve to regulate the lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in fetal plasma.