FIGURE 3.

ASO-mediated depletion of ACAT2 reduces hepatic cholesterol esterification, yet does not cause free cholesterol accumulation in the liver. Male LDLr^-/-, apoB100-only mice were fed a low-fat (20% of energy as fat), moderate cholesterol (0.1%, w/w) diet for 8 weeks in conjunction with biweekly injections (25 mg/kg) of saline, a non-targeting ASO (control ASO), or an ASO targeting the knockdown of ACAT2 (ACAT2 ASO). Mice with targeted gene deletion of ACAT2 were treated with saline as a total body knock-out control (ACAT2^-/-). Fasting liver samples were extracted and enzymatically analyzed to quantify the mass of: A, TC; B, CE; C, FC; and D, PL. All hepatic lipid values were normalized to the wet weight of the extracted tissue, and represent the mean ± S.E. from seven to nine mice per group. Values not sharing a common superscript differ significantly (p < 0.05).