Diminished cholesterol efflux mediated by HDL and coronary artery disease in young male anabolic androgenic steroid users.

Background And Aims: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) have been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). AAS abuse leads to a remarkable decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) plasma concentration, which could be a key factor in the atherosclerotic process. Moreover, not only the concentration of HDL, but also its functionality, plays a pivotal role in CAD.

Dietary interesterified fat enriched with palmitic acid induces atherosclerosis by impairing macrophage cholesterol efflux and eliciting inflammation.

Interesterified fats are currently being used to replace trans fatty acids. However, their impact on biological pathways involved in the atherosclerosis development was not investigated. Weaning male LDLr-KO mice were fed for 16weeks on a high-fat diet (40% energy as fat) containing polyunsaturated (PUFA), TRANS, palmitic (PALM), palmitic interesterified (PALM INTER), stearic (STEAR) or stearic interesterified (STEAR INTER).