Lovastatin Decreases the Receptor-Mediated Degradation of Acetylated and Oxidized LDLs in Human Blood Monocytes During the Early Stage of Differentiation Into Macrophages

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors are used therapeutically to upregulate the LDL receptor-mediated removal of plasma cholesterol by the liver. Several lines of evidence indicate that these drugs also exert direct effects on the metabolism of native and modified LDL in extrahepatic cells. We studied the effects of lovastatin (LOV) on the degradation of native, acetylated, and oxidized LDL, and on levels of mRNA encoding for the LDL, types I and II class A macrophage scavenger, and CD36 receptors in human blood monocytes at different stages of their maturation into adherent macrophages. LOV (10 [micro sign]mol/L) reduced the degradation of acetylated LDL when added to freshly isolated cells cultured for 2 (81 +/- 4% of control, P