AIM: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was reported to inactivate p53 and play an essential role in the growth and angiogenesis of tumors that arise at sites of chronic inflammation. Gastric inflammation is...AIM: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was reported to inactivate p53 and play an essential role in the growth and angiogenesis of tumors that arise at sites of chronic inflammation. Gastric inflammation is a prerequisite for the development of gastric carcinoma (GC), which has recently been linked to Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection. This study aimed to investigate dinicopathological significance of MIF expression in GCs. METHODS: We selected 90 consecutive patients with GCs for investigation of the relation among MIF status, clinicopathological parameters, p53 expression and angiogenesis. MIF and p53 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry as positive and negative groups. Tumor vascularity was evaluated by counting microvessel density on anti-CD34 stained sections. Expression status of MIF was correlated with determined dinicopathological data, p53 immunoreactivity and microvessel counts. RESULTS: Strong immunostainings of MIF were observed in the cytoplasm of cancerous cells in 40% (36/90) of cases but not in normal or metaplastic epithelia. There was no statistically significant correlation between MIF expression and age, gender, H pylori infection, tumor location, histological subtypes, lymph node metastasis or p53 expression. Early GC less frequently overexpressed MIF as compared to advanced GCs (4/20 vs 32/70, P= 0.04). A remarkably increased microvessel count was noted in GCs with MIF expression than those without MIF expression (55.1±30.1 vs 31.3±28.8, P= 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that expression of MIF may contribute to the progression and enhanced angiogenesis in a substantial portion of GCs.展开更多
Objective: To study the expression of MCP-1 in colorectal carcinoma and its relationship to the infiltration of the macrophage and to the biological behaviour of infiltration and metastasis of colorectal carcinoma. Me...Objective: To study the expression of MCP-1 in colorectal carcinoma and its relationship to the infiltration of the macrophage and to the biological behaviour of infiltration and metastasis of colorectal carcinoma. Methods: The expression of the MCP-1 mRNA was assessed in colorectal carcinoma collected freshly from surgical specimen by RT-PCR and the expres- sion of the MCP-1 protein was assessed in colorectal carcinoma collected from surgical specimen by immunohistochemistry. The tumor infiltrating cell and macrophage were also investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results: All the 12 specimens of colorectal carcinoma detected by RT-PCR expressed the MCP-1 mRNA; MCP-1 protein was detected in 90℅ (36/40) cases of the tumor; The expression of the MCP-1 protein in colorectal carcinoma correlated negatively with its state of metastasis and the Dukes’ stage. But a postive correlation was found between the expression of MCP-1 and the infiltrated macrophage. The stron- ger expression of MCP-1, the more number of the infiltrated macrophage. Conclusion: The expression of chemokine MCP-1 in colorectal carcinoma may influence its biological behaviour of infiltration and metastasis, and can attract the immuno-cell to the local of the tumor, such as Macrophage.展开更多
Objective To investigate the polymorphism of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL150 open reading frame (ORF) in low-passaged clinical isolates, and to study the relationship between the polymorphism and different pathogen...Objective To investigate the polymorphism of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL150 open reading frame (ORF) in low-passaged clinical isolates, and to study the relationship between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection. Methods PCR was performed to amplify the entire HCMV UL150 ORF region of 29 clinical isolates, which had been proven containing detectable HCMV-DNA using fluorescence quantitative PCR. PCR amplification products were sequenced directly, and the data were analyzed. Results Totally 25 among 29 isolates were amplified, and 18 isolates were sequenced successfully. HCMV UL150 ORF sequences derived from congenitally infected infants were high variability. The UL150 ORF in all 18 clinical isolates shifted backward by 8 nucleotides leading to frame-shift, and contained a single nucleotide deletion at nucleotide position 226 compared with that of Toledo strain. The nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.8% and the amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 19.2% related to Toledo strain. However, the nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.4% and amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 8.3% by compared with Merlin strain. Compared with Toledo, 4 new cysteine residues and 13 additional posttranslational modification sites were observed in UL150 putative proteins of clinical isolates. Moreover, the UL150 putative protein contained an additional transmembrane helix at position of 4-17 amino acid related to Toledo. Conclusion HCMV UL150 ORF and deduced amino acid sequences of clinical strains are hypervariability. No obvious linkage between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection is found.展开更多
Objective: To study the chemotactic superfamily genes expression profiling of macrophage line U937 treated with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) using gene chip technique. Methods: Total RNA from macrophage ...Objective: To study the chemotactic superfamily genes expression profiling of macrophage line U937 treated with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) using gene chip technique. Methods: Total RNA from macrophage line U937 (as control) and U937 with MCP-1 was extracted, made reverse transcript to cDNA and tested with gene expression chip HO2 human. Results: Some chemotactic-related gene expressions were changed in all analyzed genes. Regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) was up-regulated over 2-fold and 7 chemotactic-related genes (CCR2, CCR5, CCL16, GROβ, GROγ, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2) were down-regulated over 2-fold in MCP-1 treated U937 cells at mRNA level. Conclusion: MCP-1 can influence some chemokines and receptors expression in macrophage in vitro, in which MCP-1 mainly down-regulates the chemotactic genes expression of those influencing neutrophilic granulocyte (GROβ, GROγ, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2). Another novel finding is that it can also down-regulate the mRNA level of CCR5, which plays a critical role in many disorders and illnesses.展开更多
Interaction between cytotoxic T lymphocyte-asso-ciated antigen-4 (CTLA4, CD152) and B7 molecules (B7-1and B7-2) is of importance in the cellular events of lym-phocyte, including antigen-specific T-cell activation andi...Interaction between cytotoxic T lymphocyte-asso-ciated antigen-4 (CTLA4, CD152) and B7 molecules (B7-1and B7-2) is of importance in the cellular events of lym-phocyte, including antigen-specific T-cell activation andinduction of autoreactive T-cell. We describe here the firstintroduction of a murine soluble CTLA4 gene, CTLA4Ig,to Mm1 cells, a macrophagic cell line. CTLA4Ig waJssuccessfully expressed on Mm1 cells and the expressedCTLA4Ig was found to be functionally active in their bind-ing to B7 molecules by flow cytometry and immunofluo-rescence studies- The biological activity of CTLA4Ig fromthe transfected Mm1 cells was studied and showed in-hibitory activity on mixed lymphocyte culture. A highCTLA4Ig producing macrophagic cell line was obtained.As Mm1 cells were regarded as difficult for gene transfec-tion and there had so far been no report on expression ofCTLA4Ig gene on Mm1 cells, these results suggested thatthe CTLA4Ig expressing Mm1 cells could be useful forExpression of CTLA4 on Mml and its biological activityanalysis of CTLA4 and B7 molecule interaction in bothmacrophage and T-cell.展开更多
The jumbo flying squid(Dosidicus gigas) population was surveyed with the help of Chinese squid jigging vessels off the Costa Rica Dome(4°–11°N, 90°–100°W) in 2009 and 2010. The daily catch of D. ...The jumbo flying squid(Dosidicus gigas) population was surveyed with the help of Chinese squid jigging vessels off the Costa Rica Dome(4°–11°N, 90°–100°W) in 2009 and 2010. The daily catch of D. gigas in the two survey cruises ranged from 0 to 5.5 t and was mostly obtained from the areas bounded by 6°–9°N and 91°–94°W and by 6°30′–7°30′N and 96°–97°W. The sea surface temperature in the areas yielding the most catch ranged from 27.5 to 29℃. The sex ratio of the total catch was 3.75:1(female: male). The mantle length of the squid ranged from 211 to 355 mm(male) and from 204 to 429 mm(female) with an average of 297.9 and 306.7 mm, respectively. In the relationship of the mantle length(mm) and body weight(g) of the squid, there was no significant difference between sexes. The female and male were at a similar maturity, and most individuals are maturing or have matured with a few females being spent. The size(mantle length) and age at the first sexual maturity were 297 mm and 195 d in females, and less than 211 mm and 130 d in males, respectively. Most of the sampled stomachs(70.6%) had no food remains. The major preys of the squids were fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, with the most abundant Myctophum orientale and D. gigas. The preys in more than 65% of the non-empty sampled stomachs evidenced the cannibalism of D. gigas. The results improved current understanding of the fishery biology of D. gigas off the Costa Rica Dome, which may facilitate the assessment and management of relative fishery resources.展开更多
The proteomics of the differential protein expressions in human glioma cell line U251 cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was investigated at the protein level by using the surface enhanced laser desorp...The proteomics of the differential protein expressions in human glioma cell line U251 cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was investigated at the protein level by using the surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) protein chip system in order to develop a method of study for the pathogenesis of HCMV infection. In this study, the cultured U251 cells were infected with HCMV in good condition and the supernatants of lysates and the extracellular fluids of the cultivated infected cells were quantitatively defined for the expressed proteins. The proteomics of the differential protein expression in cells before and after infection was analyzed by WCX2 arrays on the protein chip reader. It was demonstrated that the eytopathic effects of infected cells appeared on the 5th day after infection, however, the differential protein expression was evident at 6 h after infection as revealed by RT-PCR and mass spectrometry. The protein peaks captured from different batches of samples, from the same sample detected with different arrays or for the different times were all equivalent. With the molecular weight range from 2000 Da to 3000 Da, chip captured 82 peaks from the intracellular fluids and 11 protein peak from the cellular fluid in which compared with the control group, the protein peaks with molecular weight of 13 536.3 Da, 10 046.1 Da and 17 106.2 Da were close to those of β-amyloid protein, caspase-1 precursor and LPS-induced TNF-α factor respectively, which showed brief up-regulation 4 h after infection, and continued to raise 48 h later. These results infer that these proteins may be related to the apoptosis induced by HCMV infection, thus suggesting that the apoptosis induced by HCMV infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of HCMV infection.展开更多
OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Danhong injec- tion (DHI) on expression of the macrophage scaven- ger receptor 1 (MSR1) and ATP-binding cassette, sub-family A member 1 (ABCA1) genes, which en- code scavenger...OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Danhong injec- tion (DHI) on expression of the macrophage scaven- ger receptor 1 (MSR1) and ATP-binding cassette, sub-family A member 1 (ABCA1) genes, which en- code scavenger receptor-A I (SR-AI) and ATP-bind- ing cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1), respectively, as a potential anti-atherosclerotic mechanism. METHODS: Human U937 cells were stimulated by in- cubation with 100 nM phorbo112-myristate 13-ace- tate (PMA) for 48 h.These stimulated, monocyte-like cells were then incubated for 24 h with 50 mg/L oxi- dized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL, to induce foam cell formation), together with a liver X recep- tor (LXR) agonist or with different DHI concentra- tions. MSR1 and ABCA1 mRNA levels were mea- sured by fluorescence-based quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Compared with control cells (which re- ceived only ox-LDL), cells treated with both ox-LDL and 10 IJmol/L LXR agonist showed lower MSR1 ex-pression (but this effect was not statistically signifi- cant, P〉0.05) and higher ABCA1 expression (P〈 0.01). Cells that received ox-LDL and 3 mL/L DHI possessed higher MSR1 mRNA levels than the con- trols, whereas cells treated with ox-LDL and higher DHI concentrations (10, 30 or 60 mL/L) showed low- er MSR1 expression levels (but the differences ob- served between DHI concentration groups were not statistically significant, P〉0.05). ABCA1 expression in cells treated with ox-LDL and 3, 10 or 30 mL/L DHI was higher than in the control cells, and increased with increasing DHI concentration (P〈0.05). ABCA1 expression in cells treated with ox-LDL and the highest DHI concentration tested (60 mL/L) was not significantly different from that in the controls. ABCA1 mRNA levels in cells treated with ox-LDL and DHI were similar to, or lower than, those in cells treated with ox-LDL and the LXR agonist. CONCLUSION: DHI does not affect MSR1 mRNA lev- els in ox-LDL-treated U937 cells. However, at certain concentrations (10 and 30 mL/L), DHI significantly increases ABCA1 mRNA levels. Therefore, the an- ti-atherosclerotic action of DHI might be mediated by an increased expression of ABCA1.展开更多
基金Supported by the Grants From National Science Council (NSC2314-B002-122,123,124), Executive Yuan, Taiwan, China
文摘AIM: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was reported to inactivate p53 and play an essential role in the growth and angiogenesis of tumors that arise at sites of chronic inflammation. Gastric inflammation is a prerequisite for the development of gastric carcinoma (GC), which has recently been linked to Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection. This study aimed to investigate dinicopathological significance of MIF expression in GCs. METHODS: We selected 90 consecutive patients with GCs for investigation of the relation among MIF status, clinicopathological parameters, p53 expression and angiogenesis. MIF and p53 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry as positive and negative groups. Tumor vascularity was evaluated by counting microvessel density on anti-CD34 stained sections. Expression status of MIF was correlated with determined dinicopathological data, p53 immunoreactivity and microvessel counts. RESULTS: Strong immunostainings of MIF were observed in the cytoplasm of cancerous cells in 40% (36/90) of cases but not in normal or metaplastic epithelia. There was no statistically significant correlation between MIF expression and age, gender, H pylori infection, tumor location, histological subtypes, lymph node metastasis or p53 expression. Early GC less frequently overexpressed MIF as compared to advanced GCs (4/20 vs 32/70, P= 0.04). A remarkably increased microvessel count was noted in GCs with MIF expression than those without MIF expression (55.1±30.1 vs 31.3±28.8, P= 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that expression of MIF may contribute to the progression and enhanced angiogenesis in a substantial portion of GCs.
基金Supported by the Scientific Research Fundation of the Education Department of Fujian province (No. JA00205).
文摘Objective: To study the expression of MCP-1 in colorectal carcinoma and its relationship to the infiltration of the macrophage and to the biological behaviour of infiltration and metastasis of colorectal carcinoma. Methods: The expression of the MCP-1 mRNA was assessed in colorectal carcinoma collected freshly from surgical specimen by RT-PCR and the expres- sion of the MCP-1 protein was assessed in colorectal carcinoma collected from surgical specimen by immunohistochemistry. The tumor infiltrating cell and macrophage were also investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results: All the 12 specimens of colorectal carcinoma detected by RT-PCR expressed the MCP-1 mRNA; MCP-1 protein was detected in 90℅ (36/40) cases of the tumor; The expression of the MCP-1 protein in colorectal carcinoma correlated negatively with its state of metastasis and the Dukes’ stage. But a postive correlation was found between the expression of MCP-1 and the infiltrated macrophage. The stron- ger expression of MCP-1, the more number of the infiltrated macrophage. Conclusion: The expression of chemokine MCP-1 in colorectal carcinoma may influence its biological behaviour of infiltration and metastasis, and can attract the immuno-cell to the local of the tumor, such as Macrophage.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30170986,30371492).
文摘Objective To investigate the polymorphism of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL150 open reading frame (ORF) in low-passaged clinical isolates, and to study the relationship between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection. Methods PCR was performed to amplify the entire HCMV UL150 ORF region of 29 clinical isolates, which had been proven containing detectable HCMV-DNA using fluorescence quantitative PCR. PCR amplification products were sequenced directly, and the data were analyzed. Results Totally 25 among 29 isolates were amplified, and 18 isolates were sequenced successfully. HCMV UL150 ORF sequences derived from congenitally infected infants were high variability. The UL150 ORF in all 18 clinical isolates shifted backward by 8 nucleotides leading to frame-shift, and contained a single nucleotide deletion at nucleotide position 226 compared with that of Toledo strain. The nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.8% and the amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 19.2% related to Toledo strain. However, the nucleotide diversity was 0.1% to 6.4% and amino acid diversity was 0.2% to 8.3% by compared with Merlin strain. Compared with Toledo, 4 new cysteine residues and 13 additional posttranslational modification sites were observed in UL150 putative proteins of clinical isolates. Moreover, the UL150 putative protein contained an additional transmembrane helix at position of 4-17 amino acid related to Toledo. Conclusion HCMV UL150 ORF and deduced amino acid sequences of clinical strains are hypervariability. No obvious linkage between the polymorphism and different pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection is found.
文摘Objective: To study the chemotactic superfamily genes expression profiling of macrophage line U937 treated with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) using gene chip technique. Methods: Total RNA from macrophage line U937 (as control) and U937 with MCP-1 was extracted, made reverse transcript to cDNA and tested with gene expression chip HO2 human. Results: Some chemotactic-related gene expressions were changed in all analyzed genes. Regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) was up-regulated over 2-fold and 7 chemotactic-related genes (CCR2, CCR5, CCL16, GROβ, GROγ, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2) were down-regulated over 2-fold in MCP-1 treated U937 cells at mRNA level. Conclusion: MCP-1 can influence some chemokines and receptors expression in macrophage in vitro, in which MCP-1 mainly down-regulates the chemotactic genes expression of those influencing neutrophilic granulocyte (GROβ, GROγ, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2). Another novel finding is that it can also down-regulate the mRNA level of CCR5, which plays a critical role in many disorders and illnesses.
文摘Interaction between cytotoxic T lymphocyte-asso-ciated antigen-4 (CTLA4, CD152) and B7 molecules (B7-1and B7-2) is of importance in the cellular events of lym-phocyte, including antigen-specific T-cell activation andinduction of autoreactive T-cell. We describe here the firstintroduction of a murine soluble CTLA4 gene, CTLA4Ig,to Mm1 cells, a macrophagic cell line. CTLA4Ig waJssuccessfully expressed on Mm1 cells and the expressedCTLA4Ig was found to be functionally active in their bind-ing to B7 molecules by flow cytometry and immunofluo-rescence studies- The biological activity of CTLA4Ig fromthe transfected Mm1 cells was studied and showed in-hibitory activity on mixed lymphocyte culture. A highCTLA4Ig producing macrophagic cell line was obtained.As Mm1 cells were regarded as difficult for gene transfec-tion and there had so far been no report on expression ofCTLA4Ig gene on Mm1 cells, these results suggested thatthe CTLA4Ig expressing Mm1 cells could be useful forExpression of CTLA4 on Mml and its biological activityanalysis of CTLA4 and B7 molecule interaction in bothmacrophage and T-cell.
基金the supports of the two scientific surveys made by Fenghui No 16 and Zhe Yunyu No 807funded by National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC 41276156)+5 种基金National High-tech R&D Program of China (863 Program 2012AA092303)Project of Shanghai science and technology innovation (12231203900)Industrialization program of National Development and Reform Commission (2159999)Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Projectsupported by National Distant-water Fisheries Engineering Research Center
文摘The jumbo flying squid(Dosidicus gigas) population was surveyed with the help of Chinese squid jigging vessels off the Costa Rica Dome(4°–11°N, 90°–100°W) in 2009 and 2010. The daily catch of D. gigas in the two survey cruises ranged from 0 to 5.5 t and was mostly obtained from the areas bounded by 6°–9°N and 91°–94°W and by 6°30′–7°30′N and 96°–97°W. The sea surface temperature in the areas yielding the most catch ranged from 27.5 to 29℃. The sex ratio of the total catch was 3.75:1(female: male). The mantle length of the squid ranged from 211 to 355 mm(male) and from 204 to 429 mm(female) with an average of 297.9 and 306.7 mm, respectively. In the relationship of the mantle length(mm) and body weight(g) of the squid, there was no significant difference between sexes. The female and male were at a similar maturity, and most individuals are maturing or have matured with a few females being spent. The size(mantle length) and age at the first sexual maturity were 297 mm and 195 d in females, and less than 211 mm and 130 d in males, respectively. Most of the sampled stomachs(70.6%) had no food remains. The major preys of the squids were fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, with the most abundant Myctophum orientale and D. gigas. The preys in more than 65% of the non-empty sampled stomachs evidenced the cannibalism of D. gigas. The results improved current understanding of the fishery biology of D. gigas off the Costa Rica Dome, which may facilitate the assessment and management of relative fishery resources.
基金This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.30471527 and No.30540075)partly supported by Mr.Tai Scholar Construction Engineering Foundation.
文摘The proteomics of the differential protein expressions in human glioma cell line U251 cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was investigated at the protein level by using the surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) protein chip system in order to develop a method of study for the pathogenesis of HCMV infection. In this study, the cultured U251 cells were infected with HCMV in good condition and the supernatants of lysates and the extracellular fluids of the cultivated infected cells were quantitatively defined for the expressed proteins. The proteomics of the differential protein expression in cells before and after infection was analyzed by WCX2 arrays on the protein chip reader. It was demonstrated that the eytopathic effects of infected cells appeared on the 5th day after infection, however, the differential protein expression was evident at 6 h after infection as revealed by RT-PCR and mass spectrometry. The protein peaks captured from different batches of samples, from the same sample detected with different arrays or for the different times were all equivalent. With the molecular weight range from 2000 Da to 3000 Da, chip captured 82 peaks from the intracellular fluids and 11 protein peak from the cellular fluid in which compared with the control group, the protein peaks with molecular weight of 13 536.3 Da, 10 046.1 Da and 17 106.2 Da were close to those of β-amyloid protein, caspase-1 precursor and LPS-induced TNF-α factor respectively, which showed brief up-regulation 4 h after infection, and continued to raise 48 h later. These results infer that these proteins may be related to the apoptosis induced by HCMV infection, thus suggesting that the apoptosis induced by HCMV infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of HCMV infection.
基金Supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Project of Shaanxi Province,China(No.2008K13-01)
文摘OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Danhong injec- tion (DHI) on expression of the macrophage scaven- ger receptor 1 (MSR1) and ATP-binding cassette, sub-family A member 1 (ABCA1) genes, which en- code scavenger receptor-A I (SR-AI) and ATP-bind- ing cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1), respectively, as a potential anti-atherosclerotic mechanism. METHODS: Human U937 cells were stimulated by in- cubation with 100 nM phorbo112-myristate 13-ace- tate (PMA) for 48 h.These stimulated, monocyte-like cells were then incubated for 24 h with 50 mg/L oxi- dized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL, to induce foam cell formation), together with a liver X recep- tor (LXR) agonist or with different DHI concentra- tions. MSR1 and ABCA1 mRNA levels were mea- sured by fluorescence-based quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Compared with control cells (which re- ceived only ox-LDL), cells treated with both ox-LDL and 10 IJmol/L LXR agonist showed lower MSR1 ex-pression (but this effect was not statistically signifi- cant, P〉0.05) and higher ABCA1 expression (P〈 0.01). Cells that received ox-LDL and 3 mL/L DHI possessed higher MSR1 mRNA levels than the con- trols, whereas cells treated with ox-LDL and higher DHI concentrations (10, 30 or 60 mL/L) showed low- er MSR1 expression levels (but the differences ob- served between DHI concentration groups were not statistically significant, P〉0.05). ABCA1 expression in cells treated with ox-LDL and 3, 10 or 30 mL/L DHI was higher than in the control cells, and increased with increasing DHI concentration (P〈0.05). ABCA1 expression in cells treated with ox-LDL and the highest DHI concentration tested (60 mL/L) was not significantly different from that in the controls. ABCA1 mRNA levels in cells treated with ox-LDL and DHI were similar to, or lower than, those in cells treated with ox-LDL and the LXR agonist. CONCLUSION: DHI does not affect MSR1 mRNA lev- els in ox-LDL-treated U937 cells. However, at certain concentrations (10 and 30 mL/L), DHI significantly increases ABCA1 mRNA levels. Therefore, the an- ti-atherosclerotic action of DHI might be mediated by an increased expression of ABCA1.