Abstract
Although the epidemiological observations and in vivo studies about effects of alcohol intake on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism have been reported, little data are available which show role of ethanol in lipoprotein metabolism by cultured cells. In the present study, effects of ethanol on low density lipoprotein (LDL) metabolism in cultured human skin fibroblasts and rat aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) were investigated. In SMC, binding, internalization and degradation of 125I-LDL were not affected by ethanol up to 1.7×10-3M. However, binding and internalization of 125I-LDL were increased and its degradation was decreased at 1.7×10-1M of ethanol concentration. Similar results were obtained in the experiments using cultured fibroblasts. Preincubation with ethanol (1.7×10-1M) for 12 hours did not affect either binding or internalization of LDL, but decreased LDL degradation in fibroblasts. These results suggest that ethanol affects significantly intracellular lipoprotein metabolism in cultured fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells.
