Stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1-deficient (SCD1 2/2 ) mice have impaired MUFA synthesis. When maintained on a very low-fat (VLF) diet, SCD12/2 mice developed severe hypercholesterolemia, characterized by an increase in apolipoprotein B (apoB)-containing lipoproteins and the appearance of lipoprotein X. The rate of LDL clearance was decreased in VLF SCD1 2/2 mice relative to VLF SCD11/1 mice, indicating that reduced apoB-containing lipoprotein clearance contributed to the hypercholesterolemia. Additionally, HDL-cholesterol was dramatically reduced in these mice. The presence of increased plasma bile acids, bilirubin, and aminotransferases in the VLF SCD1 2/2 mice is indicative of cholestasis. Supplementation of the VLF diet with MUFA-and PUFA-rich canola oil, but not saturated fat-rich hydrogenated coconut oil, prevented these plasma phenotypes. However, dietary oleate was not as effective as canola oil in reducing LDL-cholesterol, signifying a role for dietary PUFA deficiency in the development of this phenotype. These results indicate that the lack of SCD1 results in an increased requirement for dietary unsaturated fat to compensate for impaired MUFA synthesis and to prevent hypercholesterolemia and hepatic dysfunction. Therefore, endogenous MUFA synthesis is essential during dietary unsaturated fat insufficiency and influences the dietary requirement of PUFA. Although dietary saturated fat is generally regarded as hypercholesterolemic, the roles of de novo synthesized saturated fatty acids and MUFAs in the regulation of plasma cholesterol levels have not been thoroughly investigated (1-3). Stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1) is a central enzyme in lipid metabolism that catalyzes the desaturation of palmitoyl-CoA and stearoyl-CoA to palmitoleoyl-CoA and oleoyl-CoA, respectively (4). The dietary requirement for MUFA, if any, is confounded by the capacity for endogenous MUFA synthesis. Furthermore, under certain metabolic conditions, both dietary and endogenously synthesized MUFAs have been hypothesized to influence the dietary requirement for certain PUFAs (5). SCD1-deficient (SCD1 2/2 ) mice have impaired MUFA synthesis and are a useful animal model to study the influence of de novo synthesized MUFAs on lipoprotein metabolism and the requirement for dietary unsaturated fat.Four SCD isoforms (SCD1-SCD4), encoded by different genes, have been identified in the mouse (4). However, SCD1 is the most abundant isoform expressed in lipogenic tissues, such as liver and adipose tissue (4). SCD1 gene expression is regulated by both hormones (insulin, leptin) and by a variety of nutrients such as cholesterol, glucose, fructose, and PUFAs (4, 6-11). This transcriptional regulation involves several transcription factors, including carbohydrate response element binding protein, sterolregulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), and liver X receptor, highlighting the importance of SCD1 activity for the adaptation to different metabolic demands (12, 13). SCD1 activity influences the fatty acid composi-