Tissue and species differences in bile salt-dependent neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity and gene expression

Enzymatic activity and mRNA abundance for neutral bile salt-dependent cholesteryl ester hydrolase (CEH) were determined in rat and rabbit tissues. In rat liver and intestine, enzyme activity and mRNA levels varied independently. Particularly striking in most tissue samples was the absence of detectable CEH mRNA in the presence of enzymatic activity, suggesting that there was an exogenous source of enzyme. Rabbits differed from rats in four ways. First, neither CEH activity nor mRNA was present in any liver sample. Second, CEH mRNA was present in nearly all intestinal samples, and its abundance tended to correlate with enzymatic activity. Third, rabbit CEH mRNA was approximately 250 bases shorter than the rat message. Fourth, we have previously shown that rat plasma contains CEH activity, whereas in the present studies, rabbit plasma did not contain such activity. Overall, our studies indicate that CEH activity in rat liver, intestine, and plasma can be derived exogenously, most likely from the uptake and transport of pancreatic enzyme. In contrast, in rabbit the lack of CEH activity in plasma and liver and the capacity of the intestine for in situ synthesis of CEH suggest that this animal does not have the same ability to distribute pancreatic CEH. These species differences in CEH metabolism may partly explain the greater susceptibility of rabbit tissues to accumulate cholesteryl esters. (Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis 1992;12:295-301).