FIGURE 3.

Increased lipid synthesis in intestines of Vil-Insig⁻ mice. Control and Vil-Insig⁻ mice (male, 17–19 weeks of age, 7 mice/group) were injected intraperitoneally with ³H-labeled water (50 mCi in 0.2 ml of saline). One hour later, tissues were removed and processed for isolation of digitonin-precipitable sterols (A and C) and fatty acids (B and D). The small intestine was divided into three equal length segments termed proximal (prox.), middle (mid.), and distal (dist.). Each bar represents mean ± S.E. (error bars) of data from seven mice. The sterol and fatty acid synthetic rates were calculated as μmol of ³H radioactivity incorporated/h per g (A and B) or per organ (C and D). *, p < 0.01, the level of statistical significance (two-tailed Student's t test) between control and Vil-Insig⁻ mice.