UPTAKE OF CHOLESTEROL BY SEGMENTS OF SMALL INTESTINE OF RAT.

A modification of Agar9s technique for tissue accumulation was adapted to the study of cholesterol uptake. This technique demonstrated a significant uptake of radioactive cholesterol by segments of the small intestine. The reduction of this uptake to about one-third its initial value by 2,4-dinitrophenol and potassium cyanide suggests that in addition to simple diffusion an energy-requiring mechanism is possibly involved in cholesterol uptake by the small intestine. In the colon such a mechanism was not demonstrated. The degree of uptake at different levels of small intestine, as well as the effect of temperature and concentration of cholesterol are reported.