Heme oxygenase and antioxidant status in cultured aortic endothelial cells isolated from atherosclerosis-susceptible and -resistant Japanese quail

We have investigated heme oxygenase (HO) and antioxidant status in the novel isolation and characterization of aortic endothelial cells (AECs) from a random bred wild-type strain ( WILD) and selectively bred atherosclerosis-susceptible ( SUS) and - resistant ( RES) strains of Japanese quail. Cultured AECs expressed acetylated LDL, and were probed with endothelial and smooth muscle cell specific antibodies to confirm purity of culture. Subconfluent monolayers of RES AECs had higher HO activity than SUS AECs. At confluence, HO activity levels were similar among strains. However, RES AECs had higher HO-1 protein than WILD and SUS cells. Although ferritin protein levels were similar among the three strains, catalytic iron was higher in SUS AECs than WILD and RES cells. Glutathione levels were highest in SUS cells, intermediate in WILD, and lowest in RES, while glutathione reductase was higher in WILD and RES AECs than SUS AECs. We suggest that differences in atherosclerosis susceptibility between RES and SUS may be due, at least in part, to differences in endothelial HO and antioxidant components.