Fig. 4From: Mevalonate inhibits acid sphingomyelinase activity, increases sphingomyelin levels and inhibits cell proliferation of HepG2 and Caco-2 cellsQuantification of SM, PC and cholesterol in the cells after mevalonate treatment. For SM and PC assay, HepG2 cells were first incubated with 3H-choline chloride to label both SM and PC for 48 h. After washing out the excess 3H-choline chloride, the cells were incubated with mevalonate for 24 h. The lipids were extracted and analyzed by TLC. The SM and PC bands were scraped according to the standards and the radioactivity measured by liquid scintillation. The cholesterol was measured by a commercial kit from Cayman. Results are means ± SD from duplicate culture wells in three separated experiments. * < 0.05, **p < 0.01 compared with nontreated cellsBack to article page