Cellular cholesterol release takes place by at least 2 distinct mechanisms: the lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT)-driven net efflux by cholesterol diffusion and the generation of high density lipoprotein (HDL) with cellular cholesterol and phospholipid on the cell-apolipoprotein interaction. Therefore, LCAT deficiency impairs the former pathway, and the latter can be inhibited by prob...

Probucol is a drug that lowers plasma cholesterol in both humans and animals. In low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-deficient Watanabe rabbits, probucol reduces the progression of atherosclerosis. This effect may be attributed to the antioxidant and/or the cholesterol-lowering properties of the drug. In the present report we studied the antiatherogenic effect of a probucol analogue (MDL 29,...

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of probucol on urine albumin excretion in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with albuminuria using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. APPROACH AND RESULTS This was a 16-week, phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with a urinary albumin/creatinine ratio of ≥30...

In the present study, we examined whether the powerful antioxidant probucol (a clinically used lipid-lowering drug) would attenuate the oxidative stress and energy starvation in experimental model of heart failure (HF) using isoproterenol. Rats were injected subcutaneously with isoproterenol (2.4 mgkg-1) daily for 1 week, and then treated with probucol (61 mg/kg) daily for 2 weeks. Oxidative st...

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibits proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and intimal thickening after arterial injury, and therapeutic molecules induce HO-1. Probucol is the only oral drug that inhibits restenosis in humans and intimal thickening in animals, although its underlying mechanism remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Aortas were ...

Probucol is a drug that lowers plasma cholesterol in both humans and animals. In low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-deficient Watanabe rabbits, probucol reduces the progression of atherosclerosis. This effect may be attributed to the antioxidant and/or the cholesterol-lowering properties of the drug. In the present report we studied the antiatherogenic effect of a probucol analogue (MDL 29,...

We evaluated the effect of the antioxidant, probucol, on the cytotoxic effects of oxidized low density lipoprotein (OX-LDL) or of cumene hydroperoxide (CumOOH) on cultured bovine endothelial cells (EC). The addition of CumOOH to EC caused the release of lactate dehydrogenase and the accumulation of thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TBARS), effects that were protected against by preincuba...

Oxidative stress is implicated in atherogenesis, yet most clinical trials with antioxidants, particularly vitamin E, have failed to protect against atherosclerotic diseases. A striking exception is probucol, which retards atherosclerosis in carotid arteries and restenosis of coronary arteries after angioplasty. Because probucol has in vitro cellular-protective effects independent of inhibiting ...

Restenosis after stent deployment remains a major clinical problem. Antioxidants have been proposed as a promising strategy against restenosis. We tested the antioxidant probucol for its efficacy against neointimal hyperplasia in porcine coronary arteries after stent implantation. Probucol was then tested in vivo in 8 coronary arteries of 4 pigs (1000 mg/day orally beginning 7 days before stent...

BACKGROUND Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) refers to acute renal damage that occurs after the use of contrast agents. This study investigated the renal protective effect of probucol in a rat model of contrast-induced nephropathy and the mechanism of its effect. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group, model group, N-acetylcysteine(NAC) gro...