Abstract
Summary
The effects of thyroid hormones on the serum lipids, aortic atherosclerosis and acid mucopolysaccharides were studied in 40 New Zealand white rabbits in two successive dietary periods: low and high contents of cholesterol. Thiouracil-treated rabbits had higher serum cholesterol levels but lesser cholesterol accumulation in the aorta than the euthyroid controls. On the other hand, thyroxine-treated rabbits tended to have serum cholesterol levels lower than those of the controls during cholesterol feeding but exhibited a greater degree of cholesterol accumulation in the aorta. Such a paradox could only be partially explained by a decrease of aortic hyaluronic acid in the thyroxine-treated group and an increase of heparitin sulfate in the thiouracil-treated group. These differences in aortic AMPS contents were only observed during low-cholesterol feeding periods and were abolished by cholesterol feeding.
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