Fig. 3.

Fractional cholesterol absorption and the relative expression level of mRNA for various proteins in the small intestine of female Golden Syrian hamsters after withdrawal of ezetimibe treatment. As described in materials and methods, female hamsters were given 1 of 3 treatments over a 10-day period. One group received only the basal diet, while a second group was fed the same diet containing ezetimibe (2 mg·day⁻¹·kg body wt⁻¹). A third group received the diet with ezetimibe for 10 days but was started on this diet 3 days ahead of the other group. These hamsters were switched back to the basal diet alone 3 days before they, and the other 2 groups, were dosed intragastrically with labeled sterols for the measurement of fractional cholesterol absorption (A). For all 3 groups, stools were collected for 3 days after dosing. The hamsters were then terminated and the small intestine was removed for the measurement of the relative expression level of mRNA for various proteins (B). Values are means ± SE of data from 4 animals (no treatment) and 7 animals in each of the ezetimibe and ezetimibe (withdrawn) groups. *Significantly different from corresponding value for group not given ezetimibe, P < 0.05.