Depletion of Cholesterol Is Associated with a Decrease of Nonmethylated Sterols

<div><p>(A) Nematode-specific biosynthesis of 4-methylated sterols from exogenously added cholesterol. Open arrow shows the methylation at the fourth position. A vertical line indicates hydrophilic metabolites of cholesterol.</p> <p>(B) Cholesterol metabolism in the first (lanes 1 and 2) and the second (lanes 3–6) generations of worms derived from mothers fed with radioactive cholesterol. CE, cholesteryl esters; mS, methylated sterols (lophenol, 4-methylcholestenol); nmS, nonmethylated sterols (cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, lathosterol). The position of these compounds on TLC was determined by chromatography of cholesteryl stearate, lophenol, and cholesterol. E, eggs; L1, L1 larvae.</p>