Effect of chlorpromazine on rat arterial lipid synthesis, in vitro

Abstract

The effect of chlorpromazine, a major tranquilizer, on arterial lipid metabolism was studied in vitro in rat aortas incubated with [¹⁴C] acetate and [¹⁴C] mevalonate as lipid precursors. Chlorpromazine at a level of 0.25 mM in the incubation medium significantly reduced the incorporation of [¹⁴C] acetate into free fatty acids (p14C] acetate by significantly increasing the relative proportion of phosphatidylinositol plus phosphatidylserine (p14C] Acetate incorporation into the combined fractions of steryl esters plus hydrocarbons and sterols plus diglycerides was also significantly reduced (p14C] mevalonate showed that chlorpromazine is also an inhibitor of sterol biosynthesis in arterial tissues as evidenced by 35–40% reductions (p14C-labeled squalene and C₂₇ sterols.