Zhang C, Zheng H, Yu Q, Yang P, Li Y, Cheng F, Fan J, Liu E
Laboratory Animal Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi'an, China.
J Comp Pathol. 2010 Feb-Apr;142(2-3):122-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2009.08.159. Epub 2009 Dec 23.
The rabbit has been widely used for the study of human atherosclerosis; however, the method for analysis of the atherosclerotic lesions has not been standardized between laboratories. The present study reports a practical method for quantifying the changes that occur in aortic atherosclerosis of rabbits. Male Japanese white rabbits were fed with either a standard chow or a diet containing 10% fat and 0.3% cholesterol for 16 weeks. Plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein were measured. Aortic atherosclerotic lesions were assessed in quantitative fashion using an image analysis system that measured (1) the gross area of the entire aorta affected by atherosclerosis as defined by Sudan IV staining, (2) the microscopical intimal lesion defined by the elastic van Gieson stain and (3) the infiltration of macrophages and smooth muscle cell proliferation as determined immunohistochemically. The rabbits developed severe aortic atherosclerosis without apparent abnormality of glucose metabolism. The quantitative method described here will be useful for the further investigation of atherosclerosis in rabbits.
兔子已被广泛用于人类动脉粥样硬化的研究；然而，实验室之间对动脉粥样硬化病变的分析方法尚未标准化。本研究报告了一种量化兔主动脉粥样硬化病变变化的实用方法。将雄性日本白兔喂食标准饲料或含10%脂肪和0.3%胆固醇的饲料16周。测量血浆葡萄糖、胰岛素、总胆固醇、甘油三酯和高密度脂蛋白的浓度。使用图像分析系统以定量方式评估主动脉粥样硬化病变，该系统测量(1)由苏丹IV染色定义的受动脉粥样硬化影响的整个主动脉的总面积，(2)由弹性凡吉森染色定义的显微镜下内膜病变，以及(3)通过免疫组织化学确定的巨噬细胞浸润和平滑肌细胞增殖。兔子出现了严重的主动脉粥样硬化，但糖代谢无明显异常。这里描述的定量方法将有助于进一步研究兔子的动脉粥样硬化。
