Figure 7.

Homocysteine increases intracellular total cholesterol in cultured human cells. HUVECs, HASMCs, and HepG2 cells were incubated for 48 hours in media containing 0, 0.2, 1, or 5 mM homocysteine. Cells were washed in PBS, harvested in 0.2 M NaOH, and lipids extracted as described in Methods. Total cholesterol was normalized for protein content, and values were expressed as a percentage versus cells treated in the absence of homocysteine. Data are presented as the mean ± SD from three separate experiments. ^AP < 0.05 between control and homocysteine-treated cells.