TRANSCRIPTIONAL EXPRESSION OF LDL-RECEPTOR GENE IN AORTIC ATHEROSCLEROTIC LESIONS INDUCED BY CHOLESTEROL-RICH DIET

The present study, aimed at understanding the transcriptional regulati on of the LDL receptor (LDL-R) gene in rabbits fed with high-cholester ol diet (atherogenic diet) for different time intervals, revealed that time-dependent increase in serum lipid profile was paralleled by decr ease in the transcriptional expression of apoprotein-'B'-specific LDL receptor (receptor 'B') gene at the atherosclerotic lesion sites as co mpared to normal sites. Based on these and other earlier observations, we propose that cholesterol-dependent transmembrane signalling pathwa y may be responsible for the initiation of atherogenesis at the cellul ar level.