Hydrogen sulfide inhibits macrophage-derived foam cell formation:

Recent evidence indicates that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exerts an antiatherogenic effect, but the mechanism is unclear. Formation of macrophage-derived foam cells is a crucial event in the development of atherosclerosis. Thus, we explore the effect of H2S on the formation of macrophage-derived foam cells. Incubation of monocyte-derived macrophages with oxidized LDL (oxLDL) alone caused significant increases both in intracellular lipids revealed by Oil-red O staining and in intracellular total cholesterol (TC) and esterified cholesterol (EC) concentrations assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, an H2S donor) remarkably abrogated oxLDL-induced intracellular lipid accumulation, and attenuated TC and EC concentrations and EC/TC ratio, whereas dl-propargylglycine (PPG) (a H2S-generating enzyme cystathionine gamma lyase inhibitor) exacerbated lipid accumulation and augmented TC and EC concentrations and EC/TC ratio. Incubation of 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindoca...