Laboratorio de Lipides (LIM10), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01246-900, SP, Brazil.
Lipid Laboratory and Center for Medicine and Experimental Surgery, Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-887, SP, Brazil.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 9;23(19):11997. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911997.
Increased cholesterol absorption and reduced synthesis are processes that have been associated with cardiovascular disease risk in a controversial way. However, most of the studies involving markers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption include conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, which can be confounding factors. The present study aimed at investigating the relationships of plasma cholesterol synthesis and absorption markers with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, cIMT (carotid intima-media thickness), and the presence of carotid plaques in asymptomatic subjects.
A cross-sectional study was carried out in 270 asymptomatic individuals and anthropometrical parameters, fasting plasma lipids, glucometabolic profiles, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), markers of cholesterol synthesis (desmosterol and lathosterol), absorption (campesterol and sitosterol), cIMT, and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques were analyzed.
Among the selected subjects aged between 19 and 75 years, 51% were females. Age, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, non-HDL-C, triglycerides, glucose, and lathosterol/sitosterol ratios correlated positively with cIMT ( ≤ 0.05). Atherosclerotic plaques were present in 19% of the subjects. A direct association of carotid plaques with campesterol, OR = 1.71 (95% CI = 1.04-2.82, ≤ 0.05) and inverse associations with both ratios lathosterol/campesterol, OR = 0.29 (CI = 0.11-0.80, ≤ 0.05) and lathosterol/sitosterol, OR = 0.45 (CI = 0.22-0.95, ≤ 0.05) were observed in univariate logistic regression analysis.
The findings suggested that campesterol may be associated with atherosclerotic plaques and the lathosterol/campesterol or sitosterol ratios suggested an inverse association. Furthermore, synthesis and absorption of cholesterol are inverse processes, and the absorption marker, campesterol, may reflect changes in body cholesterol homeostasis with atherogenic potential.
胆固醇吸收增加和合成减少是与心血管疾病风险相关的过程，但存在争议。然而，大多数涉及胆固醇合成和吸收标志物的研究都包括肥胖、糖尿病、血脂异常等情况，这些情况可能是混杂因素。本研究旨在调查血浆胆固醇合成和吸收标志物与心血管疾病（CVD）危险因素、颈动脉内膜中层厚度（cIMT）和无症状受试者颈动脉斑块之间的关系。
对 270 名无症状个体进行横断面研究，分析了人体测量参数、空腹血脂、糖代谢谱、高敏 C 反应蛋白（hs-CRP）、胆固醇合成标志物（desmosterol 和 lathosterol）、吸收标志物（campesterol 和 sitosterol）、cIMT 和动脉粥样硬化斑块的存在情况。
在所选择的年龄在 19 至 75 岁之间的受试者中，51%为女性。年龄、体重指数、收缩压和舒张压、总胆固醇、非高密度脂蛋白胆固醇、甘油三酯、葡萄糖和 lathosterol/sitosterol 比值与 cIMT 呈正相关（≤0.05）。19%的受试者存在动脉粥样硬化斑块。颈动脉斑块与 campesterol 呈直接相关，OR=1.71（95%CI=1.04-2.82，≤0.05），与 lathosterol/campesterol 比值呈负相关，OR=0.29（CI=0.11-0.80，≤0.05），与 lathosterol/sitosterol 比值呈负相关，OR=0.45（CI=0.22-0.95，≤0.05）。
这些发现表明 campesterol 可能与动脉粥样硬化斑块有关，而 lathosterol/campesterol 或 sitosterol 比值则表明存在负相关。此外，胆固醇的合成和吸收是相反的过程，吸收标志物 campesterol 可能反映了体内胆固醇稳态的变化，具有致动脉粥样硬化的潜力。
