Physiological and pharmacological regulation of small intestinal cholesterol synthesis.

1. The small intestine is an important site of cholesterol synthesis in the body and at least in experimental animals, it also contributes to the circulating plasma pool of cholesterol. 2. Studies on synthesis regulation have been partly contradictory but it is now concluded that the cellular cholesterol balance is the basic regulatory factor of intestinal cholesterol synthesis. However, the balance is affected differently in various specialized cells and parts of the small intestine. 3. Most data on synthesis regulation are derived from experimental animals but the few human studies suggest that similar regulatory factors function in man, too.