Plasmatic hyperglycaemia is responsible for positive and negative stimuli. Among responsive cells, smooth muscle cells respond actively, increasing their growth. Diabetes hyperglycaemia and lipidic disorders are frequently associated, resulting in the highest probability of cardiovascular disease, especially atherosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction and initiation of inflammatory process mediated by macrophages cause the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, rich in oxidized cholesterol, mostly 7-ketocholesterol. In this study, we evaluated the effect of 7-ketocholesterol in rabbit aorta endothelial cells, murine macrophages (J774) and smooth muscle cells (A7R5) maintained in normoglycemic and hyperglycaemic cultures. The 7-ketocholesterol-induced-cell death was observed in the normoglycemic medium three times more than the hyperglycaemic medium in all cells. High glucose medium had a protective effect on arterial smooth muscle cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]