Cholesterol Enhances the Toxic Effect of Ethanol and Acetaldehyde in Primary Mouse Hepatocytes

Figure 1

A high cholesterol diet induces neutral lipids and free cholesterol overload in mouse hepatocytes and decreases cell viability under ethanol and acetaldehyde treatments. Mice were fed with a high cholesterol diet (HC, 2% cholesterol) or regular standard chow (CW) for two days. Hepatocytes were isolated and plated. Oil red staining (ORO) in CW cells (a) and HC cells (c) for neutral lipids identification and filipin staining in CW cells (b) and HC cells (d) for free cholesterol determination were assayed. (e) Cell morphology determined by bright field microscopy of CW and HC cells under ethanol (100 mM) and acetaldehyde (200 μM) treatments. Cell viability assessed by crystal violet staining in (f) CW and (g) HC cells treated with ethanol (Et) and acetaldehyde (Ac). Each bar represents mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. Differences were considered significant at versus NT cells. Images are representative of at least three independent experiments. Original magnification 320x.