Serum lipoproteins and atherosclerosis in hypertensive broad breasted white turkeys

The serum lipid and lipoprotein profiles as well as the degree of atherosclerotic involvement in the aorta were studied in hypertensive strain of male broad-breasted white turkeys (BBWT). Serum phospholipid concentrations were found to be high while those of cholesterol and triglycerides were low. The alpha lipoprotein fraction, separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, represented the major lipoprotein fraction. Despite these facts, severe atherosclerosis was found in the abdominal aortas, suggesting the importance in this model of hypertension, functioning independently of the serum lipoprotein pattern. The cystic necrosis observed in the thoracic aorta represents a degenerative lesion possibly a result of the mechanicl stress of hypertension. Structural differences of the aorta at the two different levels, thoracic and abdominal, may explain the different pathological findings. Neither platelet aggregates nor fibrin deposition were seen in the arterial wall.