Cell proliferation in normal and atherosclerotic human aorta. II. Autoradiographic observation on deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in primary cell culture.

Proliferative potentiality of cells from atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic human aorta was evaluated in culture by the incorporation of radioactive thymidine. Thymidine index was determined autoradiographically in primary cultures of intimal and medial cells isolated from zones of fatty infiltration, fatty streaks, atherosclerotic plaques, and uninvolved areas. The thymidine index in medial cultures was higher than in the intimal ones and was unrelated to the type of lesion. In intimal cultures obtained from zones of fatty infiltration and fatty streaks the thymidine index exceeded the normal value by 4.5- and 3-fold, respectively. In cell cultures of the plaque and unaffected intima the thymidine index was the same.