The effect of diet on plasma carnitine, triglyceride, cholesterol and arterial carnitine levels in cynomolgus monkeys.
Plasma carnitine, cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured over a 13-week period in male cynomolgus monkeys (M. fascicularis) that were fed a control diet (Purina Monkey Chow, n = 5) and a semisynthetic hypercholesterolemic diet (n = 15). Plasma cholesterol levels rose from 100 +/- 5 to 743 +/- 50 mg/dl in the cholesterol-fed group during the 13-week period but remained below 133 +/- 13 mg/dl in the control group. Plasma triglyceride levels tended to be lower in the cholesterol-fed group, particularly at 4 week (28 +/- 3 vs 42 +/- 7 mg/dl, P less than 0.05). Plasma carnitine levels rose from 43 +/- 4 to 53 +/- 5 nmol/ml within two weeks in the cholesterol-fed group and remained above control values for the duration of the study. Carnitine levels were significantly higher in the carotid arteries of cholesterol-fed animals relative to control (224 +/- 25 vs 109 +/- 15 pmol/mm in situ length, P less than 0.01). Higher mean values of carnitine were also found in iliac, subclavian, and coronary arteries of cholesterol-fed animals but not in femoral arteries.
D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000378:metabolism*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D004032:Diet; D008251:Macaca / Q000097:blood*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D002331:Carnitine