Decline in Rate of Cholesterol Synthesis During Maturation of Chicken Aorta. ∗

Summary

In vitro synthesis of labeled cholesterol by aortic tissue of cockerels was found to fall off rapidly with maturation, with either acetate-1-C¹⁴ or mevalonate-2-C¹⁴ as precursor. Production of C¹⁴O₂ failed to show a similar relationship, indicating that the declining rate of cholesterol synthesis is not a consequence of decreasing permeability of the tissue to the substrate. In the system employed, mevalonate was only twice as efficient as acetate as a source of sterol carbon, and almost all the sterol radioactivity derived from mevalonate was removed by bromination. Thoracic and abdominal aorta displayed similar rates of cholesterol synthesis.