CORRELATION BETWEEN PLASMA-FIBRINOGEN AND SERUM-LIPIDS IN RATS WITH HYPERLIPIDEMIA INDUCED BY CHOLESTEROL FREE-HIGH FRUCTOSE OR HIGH CHOLESTEROL DIET

We studied the coagulative and fibrinolytic activity in intrinsic or e xtrinsic hyperlipidemia using 4-week-old male Wistar rats. Intrinsic h yperlipidemia was induced by a cholesterol-free high-fructose diet (HF D) and extrinsic hyperlipidemia, by a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) for 14 days. In intrinsic hyperlipidemic rats fed on the HFD, serum lipids were significantly increased as compared with the levels in control r ats fed on a standard diet. An apparent increase in plasma fibrinogen level and coagulant factor XIII activity was also observed in HFD rats . In extrinsic hyperlipidemic rats fed on the HCD, significant increas es in plasma fibrinogen level compared with that of control rats were found with the increases in serum lipids. Activities of antithrombin I II and alpha(2)-plasmin inhibitor in HFD-fed rats significantly increa sed compared with those of control and HFD rats. There was a significa nt positive correlation between plasma fibrinogen and serum total chol esterol, free cholesterol, or phospholipid in diet-induced hyperlipide mia (p < 0.01). Because of the increase in coagulant XIII activity in HFD-fed rats and the increase in alpha(2)-plasmin inhibitor activity i n HCD-fed rats, both diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats were shown to ha ve enhanced coagulative activity compared with the control rats. These results suggest that the HFD as well as the HCD causes a pre-hypercoa gulative state due to the increase in plasma fibrinogen level and acti vities in other coagulative and fibrinolytic factors.