Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Electroporation-Based CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Gene Knockout in THP-1 Cells and Single-Cell Clone Isolation
Published on: February 28, 2025
Alpha-Tocopherol counteracts ritonavir-induced proinflammatory cytokines expression in differentiated THP-1 cells
Weimin Guo1, Jean Marc Zingg, Mohsen Meydani
1Vascular Biology Laboratory, JM USDA-HNRCA at Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. weimin.guo@tufts.edu
Abstract:
Treatment of HIV-infected individuals with HIV protease inhibitor (HPI) drugs has significantly increased their life span. However, one of the side effects of HPI drugs is the development of premature atherosclerosis, whose molecular pathogenesis remains unclear. Previously we have reported that alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) normalizes CD36 overexpression induced by ritonavir treatment and reduces oxLDL uptake in THP-1 cells. Since inflammation is a major player in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, we hypothesized that HPI drugs, such as ritonavir, increase proinflammatory cytokines synthesis and that alpha-T supplementation counteracts this effect by suppressing proinflammatory cytokines levels. Here, we report that after differentiating THP-1 cells to macrophages, ritonavir treatment (10 microg/mL) significantly increases expression of proinflammatory cytokines, IL-6, MCP-1 and IL-8, at both mRNA and protein levels. This ritonavir-induced effect is significantly suppressed by treatment of THP-1/macrophages with 50 muM alpha-T. We conclude that ritonavir can induce proinflammatory cytokines synthesis in THP-1/macrophages, which might be associated with the development of premature atherosclerosis in ritonavir-treated patients and that this effect is prevented by alpha-T.
Related Concept Videos
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis
Bioactivation and Tissue Toxicity
