Characteristics of Himalayan marmots and their response to an atherogenic diet.

The purpose of the present study was to characterize Himalayan marmot lipoprotein profiles and investigate their response to an atherogenic diet. Sixteen marmots were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was fed with a standard chow diet, and the other group was fed with a chow diet containing 0.3% cholesterol, 6.7% lard, and 3.3% corn oil (designated as HFCD) for 16 weeks. The plasma lipids were measured, and lipoprotein profiles were analyzed. With the chow diet, the major lipoproteins were high density lipoproteins. HFCD feeding increased not only plasma total cholesterol levels but also body weight compared with the control group (P<0.05). Plasma lipoprotein (a) was detected in marmots, and the plasma lipoprotein (a) levels were 4.5-fold higher after being fed HFCD for 16 weeks. However, atherosclerotic lesions were not found in the aorta of HFCD-fed marmots. This study suggested that marmots are HDL-rich mammals and resistant to HFCD-induced atherosclerosis.