Histochemical study on the glycosaminoglycans (acid mucopolysaccharides) of the human coronary arteries.

Investigations carried out on fetuses, children, adolescents and young adults showed that a particular histochemical pattern of the coronary intima glycosaminoglycans existed in each group of age. Beginning with childhood, a subendothelial "ground substance-rich layer" could be more clearly and constantly delineated in the thickened coronary intima. It exhibited a different chemical composition and macromolecular structural stability of its glycosaminoglycans as compared to those of the elastic hyperplastic and musculo-elastic layers. The presence of a "ground substance-rich layer" including dermatan sulfate and glycosaminoglycans resistant to hyaluronidases and chondroitinases appeared in our material as a prerequisite for the development of fatty dots and streaks. During the onset of fibrous plaques, the progressive blockade of the glycosaminoglycan acidic groups by basic proteins and the occurrence of numerous saline linkages between intimal macromolecular aggregates were the prevalent histochemical changes.