ABC transporters, cholesterol efflux, and inflammatory markers are regulated by cigarette smoke in macrophages in vitro.
A) mRNA expression level analysis by real-time PCR of ABCA1 and G1 24 h after 5% CSE treatment (n = 3). B) Cholesterol efflux toward ApoAI (25–50 μg) and HDL (25 μg) was measured in thioglycolate-elicited macrophages using tritiated cholesterol (n = 3). C) In vitro mRNA expression analysis of TNF-α, Myd88, MMPs, and ABCA1/G1 in macrophages (n = 3). β-Actin was used as a housekeeping gene control for real-time PCR. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 when compared with controls (statistically significant).