Hegyi L, Skepper J N, Cary N R, Mitchinson M J
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, U.K.
J Pathol. 1996 Dec;180(4):423-9. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9896(199612)180:4<423::AID-PATH677>3.0.CO;2-1.
A characteristic feature of the advanced atherosclerotic lesion is the acellular lipid core, which appears to result at least partly from the death of macrophage foam cells. This study shows that foam cell death at the edge of the lipid core includes both necrosis and apoptosis and that remnants of apoptotic nuclei are present within the lipid core. Apoptotic cells were identified by transmission electron microscopy and by nick end-labelling using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TUNEL). Some TUNEL-positive cells also expressed proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). The cause of foam cell death in atherogenesis is unknown, but oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) can cause macrophage apoptosis in vitro and might therefore play a role in the formation and enlargement of the lipid core.
晚期动脉粥样硬化病变的一个特征是无细胞脂质核心，这似乎至少部分是由巨噬细胞泡沫细胞的死亡所致。本研究表明，脂质核心边缘的泡沫细胞死亡包括坏死和凋亡，且脂质核心内存在凋亡细胞核的残余物。通过透射电子显微镜和使用末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶（TUNEL）的缺口末端标记法鉴定凋亡细胞。一些TUNEL阳性细胞也表达增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）。动脉粥样硬化形成过程中泡沫细胞死亡的原因尚不清楚，但氧化型低密度脂蛋白（LDL）在体外可导致巨噬细胞凋亡，因此可能在脂质核心的形成和扩大中起作用。
