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Cholesterol esterification and cholesteryl ester hydrolysis by rabbit and human ovaries
Author(s) -
Morin Robert J.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02531210
Subject(s) - cholesteryl ester , sterol o acyltransferase , chemistry , hydrolysis , cholesterol , clinical chemistry , lecithin , lipidology , biochemistry , glycerol , in vitro , lipoprotein
Esterification of cholesterol occurred in vitro in rabbit and human ovaries via an acyl CoA‐cholesterol O ‐acyltransferase reaction. The rate of esterification was increased in early pregnancy and may be one of the mechanisms whereby the content of stored ovarian cholesteryl esters is increased during this period. The increased cholesteryl esters were primarily in the form of cholesteryl oleate. The cholesteryl ester fatty acid patterns in both rabbit and human ovaries differed from those in sera, suggesting that a significant portion of these esters may have been derived from in situ synthesis. The rate of hydrolysis of cholesteryl esters during pregnancy was also increased, and occurred at a faster in vitro rate than esterification. Of the agents tested, only soy lecithin was found to significantly enhance the rate of hydrolysis of cholesteryl oleate by ovarian homogenates.