The high density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor SR-BI (scavenger receptor class B type I) mediates the selective uptake of plasma HDL cholesterol by the liver and steroidogenic tissues. As a consequence, SR-BI can inf luence plasma HDL cholesterol levels, HDL structure, biliary cholesterol concentrations, and the uptake, storage, and utilization of cholesterol by steroid hormone-producing cells. Here we used homozygous null SR-BI knockout mice to show that SR-BI is required for maintaining normal biliary cholesterol levels, oocyte development, and female fertility. We also used SR-BI͞apolipoprotein E double homozygous knockout mice to show that SR-BI can protect against early-onset atherosclerosis. Although the mechanisms underlying the effects of SR-BI loss on reproduction and atherosclerosis have not been established, potential causes include changes in (i) plasma lipoprotein levels and͞or structure, (ii) cholesterol f lux into or out of peripheral tissues (ovary, aortic wall), and (iii) reverse cholesterol transport, as indicated by the significant reduction of gallbladder bile cholesterol levels in SR-BI and SR-BI͞apolipoprotein E double knockout mice relative to controls. If SR-BI has similar activities in humans, it may become an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in a variety of diseases.High density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels are inversely proportional to the risk for atherosclerosis (1). This may be due partly to ''reverse cholesterol transport'' (RCT), in which HDL is proposed to remove excess cholesterol from cells, including those in the artery wall (2-7), and transport it, either indirectly or directly (8, 9), to the liver for biliary secretion. HDL also can deliver cholesterol directly to steroidogenic tissues (adrenal gland, testis, ovary) for storage in cytoplasmic cholesteryl ester droplets and for steroid hormone synthesis (10-12). Thus, HDL may influence a variety of endocrine functions, including reproduction. A key mechanism of receptor-mediated direct delivery of HDL cholesteryl esters to the liver and steroidogenic tissues is selective cholesterol uptake, in which only the cholesteryl esters of the HDL particles (not the apolipoproteins) are transferred efficiently to cells (8, 9).The class B type I scavenger receptor, SR-BI, is a cellsurface HDL receptor that mediates selective lipid uptake (13-21; reviewed in refs. 22 and 23). It is most highly expressed in the liver and steroidogenic tissues, in which its activity is regulated by trophic hormones (13, 24-31). As a consequence, SR-BI is a key regulator of HDL cholesterol levels (17-21) and adrenal cholesterol stores (18). The finding that hepatic SR-BI overexpression leads to significant increases in biliary cholesterol content (17, 32) is consistent with gene-targeting studies (18,19) that suggest an important role for SR-BI in RCT. In addition to HDL, SR-BI can bind other ligands, including lipoproteins [LDL, modified LDL, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)] and apolipoproteins (33-37), and can mediate efflux...

Despite the physiologic importance of vitamin E, in particular its alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) isoform, the molecular mechanisms involved in the cellular uptake of this antioxidant from plasma lipoproteins have not been well-defined. Recent studies have suggested that selective lipid uptake, rather than endocytosis, is important for alpha-T delivery to cells. Here we show that the scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), which mediates cellular selective cholesteryl ester uptake from lipoproteins, facilitates efficient transfer of alpha-T from HDL to cultured cells. In SR-BI-deficient mutant mice, relative to wild-type control animals, there was a significant increase in plasma alpha-T levels (1.1- to 1.4-fold higher) that was mostly due to the elevated alpha-T content of their abnormally large plasma HDL-like particles. This increase in plasma alpha-T in SR-BI knockout mice was accompanied by a significant decrease (65-80%) in the alpha-T concentrations in bile and several tissues including ovary, testis, lung and brain. SR-BI deficiency did not alter the alpha-T concentrations of the liver, spleen, kidney or white fat. These data show that SR-BI plays an important role in transferring alpha-T from plasma lipoproteins to specific tissues. Also, in the case of the liver as was previously shown for SR-BI-dependent hepatic cholesterol transport, SR-BI-mediated uptake of alpha-T was primarily coupled to biliary excretion rather than to tissue accumulation. Defective tissue uptake of lipoprotein alpha-T in SR-BI-deficient mice may contribute to the reproductive and cardiovascular pathologies exhibited by these animals.

Disruption of the murine mdr2 gene leads to the complete absence of biliary phospholipids. We tested the hypothesis that the increase in biliary phospholipid output induced by fibrates is mediated via induction of the hepatic mdr2 gene and its encoded product, the P-glycoprotein canalicular flippase. Increased levels of mdr2 mRNA were observed in the liver of mice treated with different fibrates : ciprofibrate, 660p155 % (as compared with control group) ; clofibrate, 611p77 % ; bezafibrate, 410p47 % ; fenofibrate, 310p52 % ; gemfibrozil, 190p25 % (P 0n05 compared with control group). Induction of expression of the mdr gene family was specific to the mdr2 gene. Two-to three-fold increases in P-glycoprotein immunodetection were evident on the canalicular plasma-membrane domain of clofibrate-and ciprofibrate-treated mice. Biliary phospholipid output increased

The etiology of human female infertility is often uncertain. The sterility of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor-negative (SR-BI(-/-)) female mice suggests a link between female infertility and abnormal lipoprotein metabolism. SR-BI(-/-) mice exhibit elevated plasma total cholesterol [with normal-sized and abnormally large HDL and high unesterified to total plasma cholesterol (UC:TC) ratio]. We explored the influence of hepatic SR-BI on female fertility by inducing hepatic SR-BI expression in SR-BI(-/-) animals by adenovirus transduction or stable transgenesis. For transgenes, we used both wild-type SR-BI and a double-point mutant, Q402R/Q418R (SR-BI-RR), which is unable to bind to and mediate lipid transfer from wild-type HDL normally, but retains virtually normal lipid transport activities with low-density lipoprotein. Essentially wild-type levels of hepatic SR-BI expression in SR-BI(-/-) mice restored to nearly normal the HDL size distribution and plasma UC:TC ratio, whereas approximately 7- to 40-fold overexpression dramatically lowered plasma TC and increased biliary cholesterol secretion. In contrast, SR-BI-RR overexpression had little effect on SR-BI(+/+) mice, but in SR-BI(-/-) mice, it substantially reduced levels of abnormally large HDL and normalized the UC:TC ratio. In all cases, hepatic transgenic expression restored female fertility. Overexpression in SR-BI(-/-) mice of lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase, which esterifies plasma HDL cholesterol, did not normalize the UC:TC ratio, probably because the abnormal HDL was a poor substrate, and did not restore fertility. Thus, hepatic SR-BI-mediated lipoprotein metabolism influences murine female fertility, raising the possibility that dyslipidemia might contribute to human female infertility and that targeting lipoprotein metabolism might complement current assisted reproductive technologies.

XGB increased serum and hepatic TG levels, and VLDL production, which were restored to normal by nicotinic acid. The results suggest that FFA flux from adipose tissue to the liver is increased in XGB mice. They support the hypothesis that the GB has a role in the regulation of hepatic TG metabolism and that XGB may favour the accumulation of fat in the liver.

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