Factors influencing the ability of HDL to inhibit the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in endothelial cells

© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.We have previously reported that high density lipoproteins (HDLs) inhibit the cytokine-induced expression of adhesion molecules in endothelial cells. Here we investigate whether different preparations of HDLs vary in their ability to inhibit the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) activated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). HDLs collected from a number of different human subjects all inhibited VCAM-1 expression in a concentration-dependent manner, although the extent of inhibition varied widely between subjects. The inhibitory activities of the HDL₂ and HDL₃ subfractions isolated from individual subjects also differed. Whether equated for concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo) A-I or cholesterol, the inhibitory activity of HDL₃ was superior to that of HDL₂. This difference remained apparent even when the HDL subfractions were present only during preincubations with the HUVECs and were removed before activation by TNF-α. To determine whether the inhibitory effect of HDL₃ was influenced by apolipoprotein composition, preparations of HDL₃ were modified by replacing all of their apo A-I with apo A-II. This change in apolipoprotein composition had no effect on the ability of the HDL₃ to inhibit endothelial VCAM-1 expression. Thus, it has been shown that different preparations of HDLs differ markedly in their abilities to inhibit VCAM-1 expression in cytokine-activated HUVECs. The mechanism underlying the differences remains to be determined