Related Experiment Videos
Coronary artery apoptosis in experimental hypercholesterolemia
D Hasdai1, G Sangiorgi, L G Spagnoli
1Division of Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Atherosclerosis
|February 25, 1999
Summary
Early hypercholesterolemia induces apoptosis in coronary arteries and arterioles before plaque formation. This programmed cell death may be an integral part of early atherosclerosis development.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Pathology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Altered coronary vasoactivity in hypercholesterolemia precedes lesion formation.
- Apoptosis is linked to atherosclerosis and modulated by vasoactive peptides.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the occurrence of coronary apoptosis in experimental hypercholesterolemia prior to lesion development.
Main Methods:
- High-cholesterol diet in pigs (n=17) vs. control diet (n=9).
- Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay.
- Ligation-mediated PCR, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy.
Main Results:
- Hypercholesterolemic pigs showed significantly higher plasma cholesterol.
- TUNEL-positive cells and DNA fragmentation indicating apoptosis were found in coronary arteries and arterioles of hypercholesterolemic pigs, but not controls.
- Apoptosis was observed in the intima and adventitia before atheromatous plaque formation.
Conclusions:
- Apoptosis occurs in coronary arteries and arterioles during experimental hypercholesterolemia before the appearance of atherosclerotic lesions.
- Programmed cell death is potentially an integral component of early coronary atherosclerosis.