Genetic variation of cholesterol ester content in mouse adrenals.

Total cholesterol concentrations in muscle, liver, and plasma do not differ significantly between adult male C57BL/10J and DBA/2J mice. In the adrenal glands of these two strains, of their hybrids, and of AC mice, concentrations of free cholesterol vary by 5 percent. Adrenals from C57 mice, however, contain six times as much esterified cholesterol as adrenals from AC or DBA mice. The intermediate concentrations of cholesterol esters in F(1) hybrids suggest that the difference in this measure is inherited additively. The finding of variation in adrenal cholesterol within a species is useful for the further study of the role of cholesterol in steroidogenesis by means of genetic analysis.