Deposition and fate of cholesterol in ocular aortic implant and in the aorta in situ

¹ Harold Brunn Institute, Mount Zion Hospital and Medical Center, San Francisco, California

Aortic implants were placed in the anterior eye chamber of 30 rabbits subsequently fed excess cholesterol and cottonseed oil. After 3 months of such feeding, seven of these animals were sacrificed, and their implants and also segments of their own aorta were analyzed for cholesterol. Two more groups of these rabbits were sacrificed 2 and 3 months, respectively, after their return to a cholesterol-free diet. It was observed that the aortic implant gained almost twice as much cholesterol as the host's own aorta at the end of the cholesterol feeding period. This difference became even greater in animals that were sacrificed 2 months after cessation of excess cholesterol feeding, but still hypercholesteremic. However, the ocular implants of rabbits examined 3 months after cessation of cholesterol feeding were observed to have lost almost all of their cholesterol, whereas the animal's own aorta continued to exhibit an unchanged excess of cholesterol. The findings suggest that the ocular aortic implant differs markedly from the aorta in situ in regard to its penetration and retention of cholesterol.

Note:
With the Technical Assistance of Betty Wang, Clarence Omoto and Warren Hayashi