Plant Sterols in Serum and in Atherosclerotic Plaques of Patients Undergoing Carotid Endarterectomy

Abstract

The higher the absorption of cholesterol, the higher are the plant sterol contents in serum resulting also in their higher contents in atherosclerotic plaque. However, the role of dietary plant sterols in the development of atherosclerotic plaque is not known.

Baseline plasma plant sterol concentrations do not predict changes in serum lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma plant sterols following intake of a plant sterol-enriched food

“…Accordingly, these studies cannot be used together as supporting evidence that CHD risk is associated with moderately elevated plasma PS concentrations. Other data (Rajaratnam et al, 2000;Sudhop et al, 2002;Miettinen et al, 2005) do reinforce an association between plasma PS and CHD risk for both campesterol and sitosterol. Nevertheless, the proportion of cholesterol to PS concentrations in serum and plaque tissue and the ratio PS/cholesterol remained the same, suggesting no preferential uptake of PS into plaque tissue and thus no accelerated accumulation.…”

“…Certain studies suggest that moderately elevated plasma PS concentrations are associated with a greater CHD risk (Glueck et al, 1991;Rajaratnam et al, 2000;Sudhop et al, 2002;Miettinen et al, 2005;Assmann et al, 2006). Glueck et al (1991) suggested a relationship between campesterol, but not sitosterol, concentrations and CHD risk in a study of 565 hypercholesterolemic patients.…”

“…PS consumption at 2 g per day modestly elevates plasma PS concentrations in hypercholesterolemic individuals (Sudhop and von Bergmann, 2004). Observational studies suggest that slightly elevated concentrations of PS are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events; however, this relationship has not been consistently shown (Glueck et al, 1991;Rajaratnam et al, 2000;Sudhop et al, 2002;Wilund et al, 2004;Miettinen et al, 2005;Assmann et al, 2006;Pinedo et al, 2007). As plasma PS concentrations may reflect PS absorption efficiency (Matthan and Lichtenstein, 2004;Sudhop and von Bergmann, 2004) there is a need to address whether individuals with high baseline plasma PS (HPS) hyperabsorb PS and show abnormal elevations in plasma levels which are greater than what has previously established.…”

Phytosterol plasma concentrations and coronary heart disease in the prospective Spanish EPIC cohort

“…An investigation from the Dallas Heart Study showed no relationship between plasma phytosterols and a surrogate marker for CHD, namely, coronary calcium scores measured by electron beam computed tomography ( 26 ). Miettinen et al ( 27 ) reported an association between raised plasma phytosterol levels and increased phytosterol content of surgically removed carotid plaques, while Weingärtner et al ( 28 ) showed that consumption of phytosterol-enriched margarine correlated with increased plasma concentrations and tissue deposi- An additional factor that infl uences plasma phytosterolto-cholesterol ratios is statin treatment ( 7,36 ), a reason why statin users were excluded from the analyses. Finally, the plasma sitosterol and campesterol ratios to cholesterol were in the same physiological range as reported in previous studies (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)30 ), strengthening the reliability of our data.…”

Sitosterol and cholesterol in chylomicrons of type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic subjects: the relationship with ATP binding cassette proteins G5 and G8 and Niemann–Pick C1-like 1 mRNA

“…Sitosterolaemia is associated with increased atherosclerosis [2]. The higher the absorption of cholesterol, the more plant sterol is found in the atherosclerotic plaque [3]. The intestinal cholesterol transporter, Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1), regulates cholesterol absorption and NPC1L1 mRNA is increased in type 2 diabetic patients [4].…”