Sex differences in the hepatic cholesterol sensing mechanisms in mice.

ABSTRACT: Cholesterol is linked to many multifactorial disorders, including different forms of liver disease where development and severity depend on the sex. We performed a detailed analysis of cholesterol and bile acid synthesis pathways at the level of genes and metabolites combined with the expression studies of hepatic cholesterol uptake and transport in female and male mice fed with a high-fat diet with or without cholesterol. Lack of dietary cholesterol led to a stronger response of the sterol sensing mechanism in females, resulting in higher expression of cholesterogenic genes compared to males. With cholesterol in the diet, the genes were down-regulated in both sexes; however, males maintained a more efficient hepatic metabolic flux through the pathway. Females had higher content of hepatic

SUBMITTER: Lorbek G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6270450 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature