Prolonged alteration of serum cholesterol induced by deoxyribonucleic acid in rabbits

¹ Lucy and Henry Moses Research Laboratories, Medical Division, Montefiore Hospital, New York City

Desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was carefully prepared in a highly purified, undenatured form from beef liver. Each rabbit of a group of 20 rabbits received a single injection of 1 mg of this heterologous DNA. The mean serum cholesterol declined significantly within 4 months and was maintained at the new lower level with no return to control values for at least 2 years. This change in the mean reflected the decline in cholesterol levels of those animals with high normal values. The serum phospholipids responded similarly but no changes were observed in the serum neutral fat concentrations. Injection with varying quantities of DNA showed that the time required for changes to appear depended upon the amount of DNA injected.