Morphological fate and sequelae of human atherosclerosis: evaluation of immune mechanisms in atherogenesis through immunohistological and ultrastructural analysis

Pathology International
T ShimokamaT Watanabe

Abstract

Modern techniques of investigation have revealed several similarities between atherosclerosis and chronic inflammation, and that immune mechanisms seem to operate in the incipient and subsequent phases of atherosclerosis. In the present study, the fate and morphogenesis of human atherosclerosis was considered, and the immune aspects of atherogenesis were analysed, using fresh human aorta obtained from autopsy cases. One of the earliest changes in the grossly normal, lesion-prone area of the aorta from young cases (prelesional changes) was the infiltration of blood-borne T lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages beneath the endothelium. Cell-populated lesions abounding in T lymphocytes and macrophages, often bearing signs of activation, with or without cytoplasmic lipids were found in the fatty streaks, cap and shoulder regions of more advanced atheromatous plaques. The ultrastructural observation of cell-rich areas suggested that cognate cell-to-cell interaction plays a pivotal role in atherosclerosis, as well as cytokine-mediated paracrine or autocrine mechanisms. From an immunological perspective, the areas where both cell types are especially numerous and in close proximity are considered to be the areas with an index of disea...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 1, 1998·Herz·G SchmitzG Rothe
Nov 1, 1997·Cardiovascular Pathology : the Official Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology·Y V Bobryshev, T Watanabe
Jan 5, 2008·Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis·Makoto WatanabeYuichi Ishikawa
Jan 23, 2010·The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry·Amir J GuriJosep Bassaganya-Riera
Aug 1, 1997·International Journal of Cardiology·T WatanabeT Shimokama

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