Genetic Basis for Heterogeneity in Response of Plasma Lipids to Plant Sterols

The present study's goal is to identify a genetic basis for variations in responsiveness to
plant sterol use, and elucidate which components of control of cholesterol metabolism
associate with the genetic factors identified. The long term target is to contribute to a
growing database that will be used in conjunction with rapid genotyping assays to allow
future practitioners to determine if plant sterol intervention will be an effective
lipid-lowering therapy in at-risk patients. Specifically, it is hypothesized that haplotype
frequencies for key lipid regulatory genes will associate with (i) plasma lipid and non
cholesterol sterol (lathosterol) profiles, (ii) whole-body cholesterol absorption and
synthesis and iii) the expression of cholesterol responsive genes in response to plant
sterol consumption.