Cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors bile acids

For obvious reasons, inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis have aroused intense interest. Studies on a variety of species (mostly rats) have been made using 1-alkylimidazoles," colchicine," and chenodeoxycholic acid, the last work being particularly interesting as the metabolite affected HMG-CoA reductase but not cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase, the steps believed to be rate-limiting for the biosynthesis of sterols and of bile acids respectively. Arsenite, /8-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, and ethanethiol all inhibited the biosynthesis of cholesterol from MVA in rat liver homogenates. The accumulation of 4,4-dimethyl-5a-cholest-8-en-3/3-ol together with the corresponding A -diene supported the view that... 

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