Leptin-deficient mice (ob/ob) are an excellent murine model for obesity, insulin resistance,
and diabetes, all of which are components of a multiple risk factor syndrome that, along with
hypercholesterolemia, precipitates a potential high risk for atherosclerosis. In the current
study, we show an unexpectedly severe hyperlipidemia in ob/ob mice on a background of
low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) deficiency (−/−). Doubly mutant mice (LDLR−/−;
ob/ob) exhibited striking elevations in both total plasma cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride …