Abstract
We examined the effect of splenectomy on experimental atherosclerosis in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Following cholesterol feeding the splenectomized rabbits showed significantly higher levels of serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and phospholipid in contrast to lower levels of highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol, as compared with sham-operation rabbits. The percentage of aortic plaque area in the splenectomized group tended to be higher than that in the sham-operation group. Our results suggest a possible role of the spleen in lipid metabolism, in particular an exsitence of splenic factor which can suppress diet-induced hyperlipidemia.
