Abstract
Since distinct species differences were found in the serum lipid response of several species of nonhuman primates to dietary fat and cholesterol,
in vitro lipogenesis by liver and intestine was studied in four of these species (
Cebus albifrons and
apella, Macaca fascicularis, and
Saimiri sciureus) in order to identify potential differences in the capacity of these tissues to synthesize cholesterol and triglyceride. Comparison of New World cebus and Old World cynomolgus monkeys demonstrated that the cebus monkey exhibited a greater potential for cholesterogenesis in the liver and for total lipogenesis in the jejunum than did the cynomolgus monkey. Proportionately, however, the cynomolgus demonstrated a higher rate of intestinal cholesterol synthesis
in vitro relative to hepatic cholesterol synthesis than did the New World species. The feeding of cholesterol with butterfat to squirrel monkeys caused a 94% inhibition of cholesterol synthesis from acetate in liver slices and a 48% inhibition in the ileum. Dietary coconut oil, on the other hand, when compared to safflower oil resulted in a significant increase in the rate of triglyceride synthesis from acetate in liver from cebus monkeys and in jejunum from cebus and cynomolgus monkeys. The possible relationship of these differences in lipogenesis to species differences in the hyperlipidemic capacity of dietary fat and cholesterol is discussed.