ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the injuries caused by cholesterol to the vascular endothelial cells (VECs). Methods Different dosage of cholesterol (6.25,12.5,25.0,50.0 mg/L) was used on human umbilical endothelial cell line,ECV304,respectively. LDH activity,nitric oxide and the nitric oxide synthetase activity in the supernatant of cell culture were detected. The concentration of MCP-1 protein in cell culture was detected by ELISA. Results As compared with the normal control cells,a significant increase of LDH activity was found in the cells treated with 50.0 mg/L cholesterol. The NO level decreased in the cells treated by 25.0 or 50.0 mg/L cholesterol. When treated by cholesterol at dose of 6.25,12.5,25.0 or 50.0 mg/L respectively,the NOS activity was greatly decreased and MCP-1 protein was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion Cholesterol of high concentration could directly injure the structure and partial function of VECs.