Hypercholesteremic Roles of Plasma Cholate and Phospholipid in Biliary Obstruction

Abstract

The probable cause of hypercholesteremia after biliary obstruction, in mature rats, appears to be the hyperphospholipidemia which is effected both by a preceding rise of plasma cholate and the biliary obstruction itself. Thus after biliary obstruction, the rise of plasma cholate occurred far sooner than that of phospholipid and the latter in turn rose sooner than did cholesterol. Following bile duct-inferior vena cava anastomosis, hyperphospholipidemia still occurred although somewhat less intense than that after biliary obstruction. The cholesterol rise after the anastomosis also was less than that after biliary obstruction. The cholate rise was the same in both types of biliary retention. These latter observations suggest not only that the hyperphospholipidemia is caused chiefly by cholate accumulation but also that the cholesterol rise is occasioned by the phospholipid rise. After biliary obstruction, the rise of plasma cholesterol, but not that of phospholipid or cholate, can be accentuated by prior feeding of cholesterol and olive oil. This suggests that some of the excess cholesterol in plasma may be derived from exogenous sources.