Effect of IL-10 on formation of foam cell induced by ox-LDL

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease that causes various cardiovascular complications.It has been realized that cellular and humoral immunity plays crucial roles in atherogenic lesion formation.In this study the effects of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and interleukin-10(IL-10)on the formation of foam cells during the early stages of ath-erosclerosis have been investigated.Macrophage was induced by phorbol myristate acetate(PMA)treatment on THP-1 cells.The cells were further stimulated by ox-LDL,ox-LDL plus LPS,ox-LDL plus IL-10 and LPS.By using an oil red O staining technique,the formation of foam cells was evaluated by lipid granules formation in the cells.The ratio of foam cell formation was increased from(9.77±1.70)%to(16.27±2.27)%after 24 h stimulation with ox-LDL,and the increase was observed with incub-ating time.The foam cells were significantly increased in the presence of LPS in a dose-dependent manner.The max-imum increase of about 40%was observed.However,the significant elevation by LPS was abrogated when IL-10 was added.These results indicated that IL-10 can effectively prevent the formation of foam cells induced by ox-LDL with or without LPS.This study demonstrates that ox-LDL can cause foam cell formation from macrophages in vitro.LPS can significantly accelerate this event.IL-10,an anti-inflammatory cytokine,can inhibit the effect of ox-LDL and LPS.These results indicate that inflammatory effects in blood vessels can speed up foam cell formation.The inhibitive effect of IL-10 is an important factor for delaying atherosclerosis processes.