| First Author | Davis HR Jr | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol | Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 841-9 |
| PubMed ID | 17218600 | Mgi Jnum | J:135062 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3790303 | Doi | 10.1161/01.ATV.0000257627.40486.46 |
| Citation | Davis HR Jr, et al. (2007) Deficiency of Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 prevents atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 27(4):841-9 |
| abstractText | OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether the deficiency of Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 (Npc1l1) prevents atherosclerosis in apoE null mice. METHODS AND RESULTS: Npc1l1(-/-)/apoE null-/- mice were generated and found to have a significant reduction in cholesterol absorption (-77%) compared with wild-type or apoE-/- mice. Npc1l1/apoE-/- mice were fed a chow or Western diet for 24 weeks, then lipoprotein, hepatic, and biliary cholesterol, and atherosclerosis development was compared with apoE-/-, Npc1l1-/-, wild-type, and ezetimibe-treated apoE-/- mice. Chylomicron remnant/VLDL cholesterol levels were reduced 80% to 90% in both chow and Western diet-fed Npc1l1/apoE-/- mice relative to apoE-/- mice. Male Npc1l1-/- and Npc1l1/apoE-/- mice were completely resistant to diet induced hypercholesterolemia, and both male and female mice were completely resistant to increases in hepatic and biliary cholesterol levels. Atherosclerosis was reduced 99% in aortic lesion surface area, 94% to 97% in innominate artery intimal lesion area, and >90% in aortic root lesion area in both male and female Npc1l1/apoE-/- mice relative to apoE-/- mice. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of Npc1l1, the molecular target of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe, in apoE-/- mice results in a significant reduction in cholesterol absorption and plasma cholesterol levels, and causes a nearly complete protection from the development of atherosclerosis, under both cholesterol-fed and non-cholesterol-fed conditions. |
