Strain differences in response to dietary cholesterol by JAX rabbits: correlation with esterase patterns.

Six strains of genetically defined JAX rabbits were tested for their serum cholesterol levels (total and free) in response to a 0.5% cholesterol diet. Marked differences in response between the 6 strains were found. IIIVO/J and WH/J are low responding strains, X/J and ACEP/J are intermediate responding strains, and OS/J and AX/J are high responding strains. After 4 weeks of the cholesterol diet the total serum cholesterol level of the high responding AX/J strain was about 5-fold greater than the level of the low responding IIIVO/J strain. The esterified/total (E/T) ratio appeared to be higher in the high responding strains, indicating a synergistic effect in the process of atherosclerosis. The response of the individual rabbits to the cholesterol diet was compared with the patterns of serum and liver esterase zymograms. This comparison indicated a correlation of the dietary cholesterol susceptibility with the presence or absence of the esterase zones in the anodal, fast moving region of the gel.