COMPARISON BETWEEN DIETARY SOYBEAN PROTEIN AND CASEIN OF THE INHIBITING EFFECT ON ATHEROGENESIS IN THE THORACIC AORTA OF HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC (EXHC) RATS TREATED WITH EXPERIMENTAL HYPERVITAMIN-D

Atherosclerotic lesions of the thoracic aorta were induced in exogenou sly hypercholesterolemic (ExHC) rats by treating initially with hyperv itamin D-2 and subsequently feeding on hypercholesterolemic diets for 180 days, Dietary soybean protein, in comparison with casein, substant ially decreased the degree of atherosclerotic lesions, which was evalu ated by intimal thickening, although with a similar topographical dist ribution, The casein-fed rats tended to maintain a high concentration of serum cholesterol, particularly in triacylglycerol-rich lipoprotein s. The concentrations of apo A-I and TEARS in the serum was comparable between the dietary protein groups, The data suggest that dietary soy bean protein, compared to casein, produced lipoproteins which were les s atherosclerotic by partitioning cholesterol in the triacylglycerol-p oor lipoproteins.