Rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells in culture were incubated with 0.04-500 M esterastin. Acid cholesteryl ester hydrolase (ACEH) and neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase (NCEH) activities were inhibited to a comparable degree, with 50% inhibition occurring in the range of 0.4 M esterastin. Cells incubated with cholesteryl oleyl ether showed 50% inhibition of NCEH at 5.0 M, but no inhibition of ACEH over a concentration range of 0.2-20 M. This relative specificity of cholesteryl oleyl ether for NCEH can be employed to study the relative roles of ACEH vs. NCEH in preventing cellular cholesteryl ester accumulation.
