Genetic, anatomic, and clinical determinants of human serum sterol and vitamin D levels

Abstract

Significance Cholesterol is the major sterol in blood and in excess causes cardiovascular disease. In addition to cholesterol, numerous other sterols of unknown function and pathogenicity circulate in the bloodstream. Here, we use chemical methods to screen for over 60 different sterols and sterol derivatives in the sera of 3,230 clinically well-characterized individuals. Twenty-seven sterols and two sterol derivatives (vitamin D 2 and D 3 ) were routinely detected in vastly different amounts in a majority of individuals. Genes, ethnicity, gender, age, clinical phenotype, and anatomy were identified as significant sources of interindividual variation in these lipid metabolites.