Fig. 5. Effect of cholesterol-affecting drugs on cholesterol content and sodium-glucose cotransport activity of proximal tubular cells in primary culture from vimentin-null mice (Vim^-/-; hatched bars) and from wild-type littermates (Vim^+/+; open bars). Cells were treated or not with methyl-ß-cyclodextrin (MCD, 10 mM at 37°C for 2 hours) or cholesterol-methyl-ß-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (MCD-chol, 0.03% cholesterol at 37°C for 2 hours), then (A) total plasma membrane cholesterol content and (B) Na-dependent [¹⁴C]-methyl--D-glucopyranoside (MGP) uptake (1 mM, 10 minutes) were measured as described. Data are means±s.e.m. of four separate cultures; experiments were performed in triplicate. ANOVA: Vim^-/- vs Vim^+/+ cells, ^*P<0.05; treated vs untreated cells: P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.005.