Effect of excess dietary cystine on the biodynamics of cholesterol in the rat.

Ingestion of an excess level of 5% of L-cystine produced in the rat the following effects: total cholesterol concentration was increased in the plasma (from 102 to 165 mg/100 ml) and body (from 133 to 184 mg/100 g) whereas esterified cholesterol level was decreased in the liver (from 151 to 59 mg/100 g). The absorption coefficient of dietary cholesterol and the external secretion (elimination in the feces of cholesterol biosynthesized in the intestine) were not changed. The urinary and fecal excretion, transformation into bile acids and input into the plasma of cholesterol biosynthesized in the organs (internal secretion) were enhanced. The elevation of cholesterol synthesis in the cystine-treated rats was explained by an increased hepatic cholesterol synthesis. Hence, addition of cholesterol, which inhibits hepatic cholesterol synthesis, to the cystine-enriched diet led to a significant decrease (by 50%) in cholesterol synthesis. Moreover, when the absorption coefficient of dietary cholesterol was decreased (replacement of lard by tristearin) cholesterol synthesis of the cystine-fed rats was increased. Thus, such a relationship, previously demonstrated for rats in which the intestine was the major source of biosynthesized cholesterol, exists also when the liver becomes more important in the synthetic process.