Fig. 7.

4F stimulates cholesterol efflux and decreases membrane-associated rafts. A: primary human monocytes were loaded with [¹⁴C]cholesterol and treated with 4F + apoA-I for 18 h. Cholesterol effluxed from the cell was measured and expressed as a percentage of total cholesterol (cell + medium). Black bars, vehicle; open bars, cells + 4F; hatched bars, cells + apoA-I . Data are means ± SE; n = 6. *P < 0.001, significant difference between control samples and treated cells. B: cells were treated with medium alone, 4F (50 μg/10⁶ cells), or apoA-I (50 ug/10⁶ cells) for 4 days and stained for lipid rafts and nuclei using Alexa fluor 488-CT-B conjugate (FITC) and DAPI, respectively. C: number of cells expressing lipid rafts, determined by ImageJ analysis, and expressed as rafts/nuclei, was significantly reduced in cells treated with 4F and apoA-I compared with medium alone (5.6 ± 2.3, 6.4 ± 4.6, and 18.4 ± 5.6, respectively). *P < 0.008. Data represent 4 experiments.