Overexpression of human ABCG1 does not affect atherosclerosis in fat-fed ApoE-deficient mice.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of whole body overexpression of human ABCG1 on atherosclerosis in apoE(-/-) mice.

Methods And Results: We generated BAC transgenic mice in which human ABCG1 is expressed from endogenous regulatory signals, leading to a 3- to 7-fold increase in ABCG1 protein across various tissues. Although the ABCG1 BAC transgene rescued lung lipid accumulation in ABCG1(-/-) mice, it did not affect plasma lipid levels, macrophage cholesterol efflux to HDL, atherosclerotic lesion area in apoE(-/-) mice, or levels of tissue cholesterol, cholesterol ester, phospholipids, or triglycerides.