Golden-Syrian hamsters have been used as an animal model to assess diet-induced atherosclerosis since the early 1980s. Advantages appeared to include a low rate of endogenous cholesterol synthesis, receptor-mediated uptake of LDL cholesterol, cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity, hepatic apoB-100 and intestinal apoB-48 secretion, and uptake of the majority of LDL cholesterol via the LDL ...
