Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2419:247-255. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_14.
Macrophage foam cell formation plays a crucial role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Macrophages uptake native and modified low density lipoprotein (LDL) through either receptor-dependent or receptor-independent mechanisms to transform into lipid laden foam cells. Foam cells are involved in the formation of fatty streak that is seen during the early stages of atherosclerosis development and therefore represents a promising therapeutic target. Normal or modified lipoproteins labeled with fluorescent dyes such as 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3-3-3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (Dil) are often used to monitor their internalization during foam cell formation. In addition, the fluorescent dye Lucifer Yellow (LY) is widely used as a marker for macropinocytosis activity. In this chapter, we describe established methods for monitoring modified lipoprotein uptake and macropinocytosis during macrophage foam cell formation.
巨噬细胞泡沫细胞的形成在动脉粥样硬化的发生和发展中起着关键作用。巨噬细胞通过受体依赖或非受体依赖的机制摄取天然和修饰的低密度脂蛋白（LDL），从而转化为富含脂质的泡沫细胞。泡沫细胞参与了动脉粥样硬化发展早期形成的脂纹的形成，因此是一个很有前途的治疗靶点。用荧光染料如 1,1'-二辛基-3,3,3',3'-四甲基吲哚碳菁高氯酸盐（Dil）标记的正常或修饰的脂蛋白常用于监测其在泡沫细胞形成过程中的内化。此外，荧光染料 Lucifer Yellow（LY）被广泛用作巨胞饮活性的标记物。在本章中，我们描述了监测巨噬细胞泡沫细胞形成过程中修饰的脂蛋白摄取和巨胞饮作用的既定方法。
