Aim To investigate the characteristics of hypercholesterolemia and
atherosclerosis in rabbits,quails and rats fed with high
cholesterol diet.Methods The rabbits, quails and rats were given diet with high
cholesterol for 1～3 months. The levels of plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride(TG),high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL C) were determined with the biochemical techniques and the
atherosclerosis was observed with pathological techniques. Morphological changes of vascular endothelial cells were observed under electronic microscopes.Results and Conclusion The rabbits were given cholesterol at 0.4g·d -1 for 1month, the values of TC were increased 11.8 times,the high levels kept stable for 2～3 months,and the typical pathological manifestation of atherosclerosis was observed after 3 months.This phenomenon was found in the three repeated experiments.If the rabbits were given cholesterol 1.2g·d -1 for 1month,the values of TC were increased 53.2 times, and the pathological manifestation of atherosclerosis was observed.Under the same experimental conditions,the quails were given cholesterol at 0.05g·d -1 for 2 months or more.The values of TC were increased 7.2 times,and the pathological manifestation of atherosclerosis was observed after 3 months.The rats were given cholesterol at 0.4g·kg -1 ·d -1 for 1 month,the values of TC were increased 1.3 times, and the initial manifestation of atherosclerosis was observed, including adhesion of monocytes into the cellular membrane of vascular endothelium, and the increased expression of the interleukin 8.