Is insulin pro-atherogenic at the cellular level?

Abstract

Aim: This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that insulin treatment has unexpected pro-atherogenic effects at the cellular level, namely, proliferative activity and intracellular cholesterol content.

Methods: Primary cultures of subendothelial cells derived from non-atherosclerotic human aorta and mouse peritoneal macrophages were used to investigate the in vitro effect of insulin on atherosclerosis-related parameters, such as cellular cholesterol content and proliferation rate. Additionally, the effect of insulin treatment in 33 type 1 diabetic patients on serum atherogenicity (i.e. its ability to induce cholesterol accumulation in cultured cells) was investigated.

Results: Insulin (1-1,000 µU/mL) did not affect [³H]-thymidine incorporation or cholesterol content in either type of cultured cell. Most blood sera obtained from type 1 diabetic patients induced a 1.5- to 1.7-fold increase in cholesterol content of cultured cells, but this effect did not correlate with serum insulin levels. Exogenous insulin added to cultured cells did not modify the effect of patient's sera on cholesterol level and proliferation of cultured cells.

Conclusion: The results suggest that insulin does not exert direct atherogenic actions at the level of arterial cells, with the respect to proliferative activity and cholesterol content.

Keywords

Diabetes mellitus / atherosclerosis / insulin / cultured subendothelial cells / cholesterol accumulation / cellular proliferation

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