Abstract

Male Hartley guinea pigs (10/group) were assigned either to a control diet (no drug treatment) or to diets containing 0.4, 2.2, or 7.3 mg/day of an ileal apical sodium-codependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) inhibitor, 1-[4-[4[(4R,5R)-3,3-dibutyl-7-(dimethylamino)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-1,1-dioxido-1-benzothiepin-5-yl]phenoxy]butyl]-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2] octane methanesulfonate (SC-435). Based on food consumption, guinea pigs received 0, 0.8, 3.7, or 13.4 mg/kg/day of the ASBT inhibitor. The amount of cholesterol in the four diets was maintained at 0.17%, equivalent to 1200 mg/day in the human situation. Guinea pigs treated with 13.4 mg/kg/day SC-435 had 41% lower total cholesterol and 44% lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations compared with control (P < 0.01), whereas no significant differences were observed with either of the lower doses of SC-435. Hepatic cholesterol esters were significantly reduced by 43, 56, and 70% in guinea pigs fed 0.8, 3.7, and 13.4 mg/kg/day of the ASBT inhibitor, respectively (P < 0.01). In addition, the highest dose of the inhibitor resulted in a 42% increase in the number of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triacylglycerol molecules and a larger VLDL diameter compared with controls (P < 0.05). Acyl-CoA cholesterol/acyltransferase activity was 30% lower with the highest dose treatment, whereas cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, the regulatory enzyme of bile acid synthesis, was 30% higher with the highest ASBT inhibitor dose (P < 0.05). Furthermore, bile acid excretion increased 2-fold with the highest dose of SC-435 compared with the control group (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations by the ASBT inhibitor is a result of alterations in hepatic cholesterol metabolism due to modifications in the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids.