メディエイゴ

A new study in mice raises a tantalizing(1) possibility -- that humans may one day be able to eat any kind of fat they want without raising their risk of(2) heart disease(3).

"We deleted(4) an enzyme(5) in mice and they could eat any type of fat and not get heart disease," said Lawrence Rudel, Ph.D., a professor of comparative medicine(6). "If you're a mouse, it's great. Of course, we don't know yet if it will be the same in humans."

Rudel's findings are reported online(7) by Arteriosclerosis(8), Thrombosis(9) and Vascular Biology(10) and will appear in a future print issue(11).

The study involved(12) deleting a gene(13) in the mice that causes production of(14) ACAT2, an enzyme that alters(15) the molecular structure(16) of cholesterol(17) so that it can be transported(18) to the body's cells(19).

"Regardless of(20) the type of fatty acid(21) in the diet(22), even trans fat(23), no atherosclerosis(24) occurs if the ACAT2 enzyme isn't present," said Rudel. "Our research in animals tells us that ACAT2 is a potential treatment target(25) to protect(26) people against heart disease."

Groups of female mice with and without the ACAT2 gene were fed six different diets enriched with(27) one of these types of fat: fish oil(28), flax seed oil(29), polyunsaturated fat(30) from vegetable oil, saturated fat(31), trans-monounsaturated fat(32) and cis-monounsaturated fat(33), such as in olive oil.