MONDAY, Jan. 20, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- An enzyme called ACAT2 that is found only in the intestines and liver triggers hardening of the arteries in mice.
So says a study in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The finding by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, may help scientists develop new drugs to treat atherosclerosis in humans.
The researchers compared mice that lacked the gene that makes ACAT2 to mice with normal ACAT2 levels. They found that the mice without ACAT2 had almost no development of atherosclerosis and had cholesterol levels 2.5 times lower than mice with normal ACAT2 levels.
The researchers note that monkeys with elevated ACAT2 in the liver are more susceptible to hardening of the arteries.
More information
The American Heart Association has more about atherosclerosis.
