Ylä-Herttuala S, Nikkari T, Hirvonen J, Laaksonen H, Möttönen M, Pesonen E, Raekallio J, Akerblom H K
Arteriosclerosis. 1986 Mar-Apr;6(2):230-6. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.6.2.230.
To study the early features of atherosclerosis, we analyzed coronary artery intima medias from 63 boys and 30 girls who were newborn to 15 years old at the time of accidental death. Fatty streaks were found in five boys and one girl and, with one exception, were not present until the second decade of life. From birth there was a continuous increase in esterified cholesterol (EC) and a two- to threefold rise in free cholesterol and phospholipid. DNA, total protein, and collagen tended to rise after the first decade. The content of hyaluronic acid remained fairly constant, but sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) rose during the second decade; the highest increases were in dermatan and chondroitin sulphates. The content of arterial EC showed significant positive correlations with those of GAGs, but associations with the contents of DNA, total protein, and collagen were not significant. As judged by the observed gradual increase in arterial EC and a change in its fatty acid composition, there is a continuous increase with age in LDL-derived EC in the arterial wall. The mechanism of this accumulation is unknown, but the findings provide circumstantial evidence to support the concept that arterial GAGs may cause retention of plasma-derived lipids, which may subsequently be altered and internalized by the intimal cells.
为研究动脉粥样硬化的早期特征，我们分析了63名男孩和30名女孩的冠状动脉内膜中层，这些儿童在意外死亡时年龄从新生儿到15岁不等。在5名男孩和1名女孩中发现了脂纹，除1例例外，脂纹直到生命的第二个十年才出现。从出生起，酯化胆固醇（EC）持续增加，游离胆固醇和磷脂增加了两到三倍。DNA、总蛋白和胶原蛋白在第一个十年后趋于上升。透明质酸含量保持相当稳定，但硫酸化糖胺聚糖（GAGs）在第二个十年中增加；增加最多的是硫酸皮肤素和硫酸软骨素。动脉EC含量与GAGs含量呈显著正相关，但与DNA、总蛋白和胶原蛋白含量的相关性不显著。根据观察到的动脉EC逐渐增加及其脂肪酸组成的变化判断，动脉壁中低密度脂蛋白衍生的EC随年龄持续增加。这种积累的机制尚不清楚，但这些发现提供了间接证据支持以下概念：动脉GAGs可能导致血浆来源脂质的滞留，随后这些脂质可能被内膜细胞改变并内化。
