Figure 1.

Intraperitoneal administration of SCFAs had sex-specific effects on cholesterol metabolism. Effect of SCFAs on, (a) plasma total cholesterol (TC), (b) plasma FCh, (c) plasma cholesteryl esters (ChE), (d) hepatic TC, (e) hepatic FCh, (f) hepatic ChE, and the relative mRNA abundance of (g) Hmgcr and (h) Cyp7a1. The mRNA expression data are presented relative to β-actin. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. All data are expressed as mean ± SD. Different superscripts indicate significant differences amongst groups; p < 0.05 was considered significant (n = 6). Cyp7a1—cholesterol 7 α-hydroxylase, FCh—free cholesterol, Hmgcr—3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, SCFAs—short-chain fatty acids.