Cholesterol Metabolism and Efflux in Human THP-1 Macrophages
Authors: Kritharides Leonard , Christian Aimee , Stoudt Genevieve , Morel Dianne , Rothblat George H. 
Published: June 2011

Abstract
—This study has investigated in detail factors regulating accumulation, esterification, and mobilization of cholesterol in human THP-1 macrophages. Human THP-1 monocytes were differentiated into macrophages and then cholesterol enriched by exposure to acetylated LDL (AcLDL), together with [
3
H]free cholesterol (FC). Although THP-1 macrophages accumulated FC and esterified cholesterol (EC), assessed by both mass and radioactivity, cellular EC always demonstrated a much lower specific activity (cpm/μg) than did cellular FC, and several potential causes of this finding were investigated. Inhibition of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) during loading decreased cell [
3
H]EC by 95±1.4% but decreased cell EC mass by only 66.0±4.0%, indicating that some intracellular undegraded AcLDL-derived EC was present in these cells. Esterification of [
3
H]oleate to EC in THP-1 cells loaded with AcLDL was 2.0 nmol · mg
−1
· h
−1
, consistent with previous literature. However, EC, triglyceride, and phospholipid fractions respectively contained 1.0±0.07%, 80.0±0.5%, and 18.9±0.3% of cell [
3
H]oleate, indicating triglycerides were much more metabolically active than EC. In addition, the mass of triglyceride in THP-1 macrophages exceeded that of EC both before and after exposure to AcLDL. Esterification of nonlipoprotein-derived cholesterol was compared in THP-1 cells and nonhuman Fu5AH, CHO, and RAW macrophage cells. Whereas the nonhuman cell lines all esterified over 30% of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (hp-β-CD)–delivered cholesterol within 6 hours, THP-1 cells esterified <8.0% of incorporated cholesterol. Kinetics of cholesterol efflux from AcLDL-loaded THP-1 cells were first investigated after loading with only FC, and interactions between efflux and EC hydrolysis were further assessed after loading cells with both EC and FC. Over 24 hours, human apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apoHDL reconstituted with phosphatidylcholine, and HDL
3
respectively removed 46.6±3.7%, 61.3±3.4%, and 76.4±10.1% of [
3
H]FC from FC-enriched THP-1 cells. Cholesterol efflux to apoA-I was saturated by 24 hours and was enhanced by using apoA-I–phospholipid instead of pure apoA-I. Kinetic modeling identified that 97% of effluxed FC derived from a slow pool, with a T
1/2
ranging from 27.7 hours for HDL to 69.3 hours for apoA-I. Although efflux enhanced net clearance of EC, hydrolysis of EC during concurrent inhibition of ACAT was unaffected by cholesterol efflux. Supplementation of THP-1 cultures with cAMP to stimulate hormone-sensitive lipase did not significantly enhance net hydrolysis of EC or cholesterol efflux. In conclusion, human THP-1 macrophages contain a large and metabolically active pool of triglyceride and a relatively inactive pool of EC. The low specific activity of EC relative to FC is contributed to by reduced esterification of FC, slow hydrolysis of EC, and accumulated lipoprotein EC. The relative inactivity of the EC pool may further contribute to already impaired cholesterol efflux from these cells. Net cholesterol efflux from human macrophages is achieved by pure apoA-I and is substantially further enhanced by the presence of phospholipid in acceptor particles.