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Science 23 June 1967:
Vol. 156. no. 3782, pp. 1637 - 1638
DOI: 10.1126/science.156.3782.1637
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Articles

Conversion of Beta Sitosterol to Cholesterol Blocked in an Insect by Hypocholesterolemic Agents

J. A. Svoboda 1 and W. E. Robbins 1

1 Entomology Research Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705

Two vertebrate hypocholesterolemic agents (triparanol and 22,25-diazacholesterol) block the conversion of beta-sitosterol to cholesterol in the larva of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (Johannson). A primary site of inhibitory action is the terminal step in this conversion—the reduction of desmosterol (24-dehydrocholesterol) to cholesterol. This is also the site at which these compounds inhibit de novo cholesterol biosynthesis in higher animals. Both agents severely inhibit growth and maturation of the tobacco hornworm.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)