Fig. 4.

Analysis of key enzymes and receptors involved in the uptake and conversion of cholesterol by quantitative real-time PCR (QrtPCR) and Western blotting. Western blots of liver homogenates isolated from WT and DKO mice were analyzed as described in experimental materials to determine relative protein levels of acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase-2 (ACAT2; D). Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 (COX4) was used as a loading control to normalize protein expression. D, inset: representative Western blot for males and females were spliced each from 1 blot, respectively and shows relative protein expression in each mouse group. QrtPCR was used to determine relative mRNA abundance of Scarb1 (A), Ldlr (B), and Ceh/Hsl (C). 18S rRNA was used to normalize mRNA expression levels. mRNA and protein expression levels were quantified as described in experimental materials. Solid bars: WT mice; open bars: DKO mice. Values are means ± SE (n = 4–7). *P < 0.05 for DKO vs. WT. #P < 0.05 CH vs. CO.