Tomato therapy: Engineered veggies target intestinal lipids, improve cholesterol / UCLA Newsroom

UCLA researchers report that tiny amounts of a specific type of lipid in the small intestine may play a greater role than previously thought in generating the high cholesterol levels and inflammation that lead to clogged arteries.
 
The team also found they could reduce the negative effects of these lipids in mice by feeding the animals a new genetically engineered tomato being developed at UCLA that is designed to mimic HDL ("good") cholesterol.
 
The study, published in the December issue of the Journal of Lipid Research with an accompanying editorial, focused on a group of lipids found in the small intestine called unsaturated lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs).

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