Cholesterol Metabolism in the Gerbil

Abstract

At the end of two weeks following the injection of Cl4 - cholesterol into male gerbils, 60% of the radioactivity appeared in the excreta. Of this 90% was present in feces and 10% in urine. The radioactivity in feces was found predominantly in the bile acid fraction. The finding that 10% of the injected C14 - cholesterol appeared in urine is in contrast to the rat which excretes only 1% of labeled cholesterol in the urine. These results indicate that the conversion into steroid hormones is a more important pathway of cholesterol metabolism in the gerbil than in the rat. This conclusion was further supported by the finding that the adrenal weight/body weight of the gerbil is 4 times that of the rat. Forty per cent of the administered Cl4 - cholesterol remained in the gerbil. Of this 22.2% was present in the carcass while the remainder was distributed in the organs, predominantly in the gut and its contents and liver.