Objective:To investigate the effects of rosiglitazone

a synthetic ligand of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma（PPARγ）

on the expression of acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase-1（ACAT-1） in phorbol myristate acetate（PMA）-pretreated THP-1 cells after the inducement of advanced glycation end products（AGEs）.Methods:After THP-1 cells were cultured in the presence of 0.1 μmol/L PMA for 72 h to induce phagocytic differentiation

the obtained THP-1 macrophages were treated with rosiglitazone for 4 h at different concentrations（1

5 or 10 μmol/L） and then exposed to AGEs-modified bovine serum albumin（AGEs-BSA） for 24 h at a concentration of 200 mg/L.Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction（RT-PCR） and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of ACAT-1 respectively.Results:Administration of AGEs-BSA（200 mg/L） into the THP-1 macrophages resulted in up-regulation of ACAT-1 at mRNA and protein levels when compared with the expressions in macrophages incubated with serum-free RPMI1640.Pretreatment of rosiglitazone inhibited significantly the increased expression of ACAT-1 induced by AGEs-BSA in a concentration-dependent manner.Conclusion:PPARγ activation by rosiglitazone down-regulates ACAT-1 expression induced by AGEs in THP-1 macrophages

which might provide a new way for treating atherogenesis in diabetic patients.