Malondialdehyde-modified low density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL)-induced cell growth was suppressed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL) and oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL), which accelerate the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis, are thought to be involved in parthenogenesis caused by smooth muscle cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the suppression mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the growth of an MDA-LDL-induced human acute monocyte leukemia suspension cell line (THP-1 cells). We found that PAHs suppressed MDA-LDL-induced THP-1 cell growth. Cotreatment with benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) or 3-methylchoranthrene (3-MC) decreased MDA-LDL-induced THP-1 cell growth, whereas treatment with benzo[e]pyrene (BeP) or pyrene, which is not a ligand for the arylhydrocarbon receptor (AhR), did not decrease THP-1 cell growth. Our findings clearly demonstrated that THP-1 cell growth, which was suppressed by PAHs, was restored by the addition of alpha-naphtoflavone, which is a partial antagonist to AhR. Moreover, it was shown that cotreatment with MDA-LDL and BaP markedly induced the expression of human cytochrome P4501A1 (hCYP1A1) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and significantly induced the expressions of p53 and p21 mRNAs. In support of these findings, AhR small interfering RNA suppressed the induced level of p21 mRNA and by BaP and the overexpression of hCYP1A1 significantly induced levels of p21 mRNA. On the other hand, the uptake rate of [(14)C]BaP into cells was increased more significantly by cotreatment with MDA-LDL than by treatment with [(14)C]BaP alone. These results strongly suggest that the suppression of MDA-LDL-induced THP-1 cell growth is caused by the increased uptake of PAHs, which strongly activate the AhR signal pathway accompanying DNA damage.