The central hypothesis of this proposal is that reverse cholesterol transport is related to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. It is complementary to the concept that reduction of cholesterol biosynthesis with statin drugs prevents CHD, but it focuses on whole body cholesterol metabolism and kinetic cholesterol transport rather than on static levels of circulating lipoproteins. Although this is an old idea, it has not been adequately tested in humans because of lack of suitable methods. In this proposal we will apply innovative stable isotope and mass spectroscopic technology to study reverse cholesterol transport in human subjects. The first specific aim is to improve the preparation of intravenous deuterated cholesterol tracer, a critical limiting element in the study of whole body cholesterol metabolism.
The second aim i s to use that intravenous tracer, along with a different oral tracer, to partition fecal cholesterol into excreted endogenous cholesterol, unabsorbed dietary cholesterol and newly-synthesized cholesterol derived from the liver and intestine. Measurements will be made during consumption of a controlled diet provided by the metabolic kitchen. The pool size of the rapidly-mixing body cholesterol pool will be measured along with the fractional rate of cholesterol catabolism. These direct measures of reverse cholesterol transport will be correlated with plasma biomarkers and with metabolic covariates. The relation of reverse cholesterol transport to carotid intima-media thickness will be determined. The third specific aim will use similar methods to study the mechanism of action for the widely-used drug ezetimibe. Changes in fractional endogenous cholesterol excretion and related measures will be determined after ezetimibe or placebo treatment in a clinical trial. This work represents a new direction for cholesterol research with the potential to develop new and complementary methods of reducing CHD risk that can be added to diet and statin drug treatment.

Public Health Relevance

Cholesterol is an important cause of heart disease. Most cholesterol-related projects focus only on circulating blood cholesterol. Here we will study whole body cholesterol, including the largest portion, which is tissue cholesterol outside the bloodstream. Understanding how much cholesterol individuals possess and how efficiently they excrete it is the underlying purpose of this application. This knowledge will allow consideration of new treatments that can work alongside reduction of blood cholesterol to lower heart disease risk.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL108160-03
Application #
8585088
Study Section
Clinical and Integrative Cardiovascular Sciences Study Section (CICS)
Program Officer
Liu, Lijuan
Project Start
2012-01-01
Project End
2015-11-30
Budget Start
2013-12-01
Budget End
2014-11-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$463,088
Indirect Cost
$158,425
Name
Washington University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Lin, Xiaobo; Racette, Susan B; Ma, Lina et al. (2017) Ezetimibe Increases Endogenous Cholesterol Excretion in Humans. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 37:990-996
Lin, Xiaobo; Racette, Susan B; Ma, Lina et al. (2017) Endogenous Cholesterol Excretion Is Negatively Associated With Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Humans. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 37:2364-2369
Whiteside, Wendy; Tan, Meng; Ostlund Jr, Richard E et al. (2016) Altered Cholesterol Metabolism and Hypocholesterolemia in Patients with Single Ventricle following Fontan Palliation. J Pediatr 171:73-7
Lin, Xiaobo; Racette, Susan B; Ma, Lina et al. (2015) Plasma biomarker of dietary phytosterol intake. PLoS One 10:e0116912
Racette, Susan B; Lin, Xiaobo; Ma, Lina et al. (2015) Natural Dietary Phytosterols. J AOAC Int 98:679-84