Abstract
The Mongolian gerbil has proven a useful model to study dietinduced hyperlipidemia in that it responds to saturated fat and/or cholesterol by raising its serum cholesterol levels 300–400 mg/dl and increasing hepatic lipid synthesis and secretion (Amer. J. Physiol. 221: 548, 1971). Despite this degree of hypercholesterolemia, the gerbil aorta remains free of atherosclerotic involvement. In order to determine if this was related to a peculiarity of lipid transport or an obvious difference in cholesterol metabolism by major organs that metabolize cholesterol and its esters, mainly liver and intestine, we examined the gerbil’s lipoproteins along with cholesterogenesis by liver and intestine and accumulation of cholesterol in these organs.