In Vitro Studies of Phospholipid Synthesis in Experimental Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Using in vitro techniques and labeled linoleic acid and glucose, alterations in phospholipid synthesis in the aorta were correlated with electron microscopic studies at various intervals of time after feeding rabbits cholesterol. After 4 to 8 weeks of feeding, more phospholipid precursors were incorporated into the phospholipids of atherosclerotic blood vessels than of normal vessels. Concomitant with the metabolic alterations, the following ultrastructural changes occur. Smooth muscle cells of the plaque (myo-intimal cells) evolve into highly vacuolated cells containing a profusion of cytoplasmic organelles. The increase in membranous organelles suggests that the increase in phospholipid synthesis may be the result of a cellular requirement for increased intracytoplasmic structural phospholipid.