The obligatory first step in the removal of cholesterol from foam cells is the hydrolysis of
stored cholesteryl esters (CEs) to release free cholesterol (FC). Neutral cholesteryl ester
hydrolase (CEH) catalyzes this hydrolysis, and limiting levels of CEH could play a role in
determining the susceptibility to atherosclerosis. We have recently reported the first
identification and cloning of cDNA for human macrophage CEH. In the present study, we
tested the hypothesis that systematically varied levels of overexpression of human …