[Structural changes in the microcirculatory bed and perivascular connective tissue in the myocardium during...

Light and electron microscopy were used in rabbits to study the effect of hypercholesterolemia (HC) on the microcirculatory bed (MCB), perivascular connective tissue and specialized cells of the myocardium. Within the first hours (1, 3, 6, 15, 24, 48 h) after cholesterol single administration to the animals, there were structural changes in the MCB, aggregation and superficial changes in red blood cells (echinocytes), stases, the presence of unusual ultrastructures in elastic membranes (EM) of the arterioles, in the amorphous substance of perivascular connective tissue, specifically near the venules, and focal dystrophy in cardiomyocytes. The ultrastructures detected in the EM of the arterioles and perivascular tissue seem likely to be the complexes of atherogenous lipoproteins and glycosaminoglycans. The transfer of the animals on the atherogenous diet entailed the reconstruction of small arteries of the myocardium and formation in them of so-called "Conti's pillows" as well as lipid deposition. A complex of structural changes revealed in the myocardium in the early stages of HC indicates the increased permeability of the microvessels, alterations in the blood rheological properties and circulatory disorders. A relationship was found between the intensity of the changes cited and blood cholesterol level. Injury to the MCB of an organ is likely to play an initial part in the mechanisms of atherogenesis.