Subcellular fractionation of arterial smooth muscle cells laden with lipid following incubation with low density lipoproteins and chloroquine

Lipid accumulation was induced in pig aortic smooth muscle cells in culture by incubating them with LDL and the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine, as an in vitro model of lipid accumulation in atherosclerosis. The cells were homogenized and subjected to a conventional low-speed centrifugation to prepare a postnuclear supernatant. This supernatant was then subjected to analytical subcellular fractionation by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. This showed that in normal smooth muscle cells most of the cholesterol was in the plasma membrane. When postnuclear supernatants of cells that had been incubated with LDL, either with or without chloroquine, were applied to the density gradient, there was no change in the distribution of cholesterol. The distribution of cholesterol became denser, however, when postnuclear supernatants of cells that had been incubated with chloroquine alone were studied, whereas the equilibrium density of the plasma membrane was not increased to the same extent. The cholesterol in these postnuclear supernatants was probably contained in both the plasma membrane and in the lysosomes. The distribution of chloroquine in the density gradients was consistent with a lysosomal localization. Incubation with chloroquine alone preferentially reduced the activity of the lysosomal component of β-glucuronidase compared to its endoplasmic reticulum component. The ratio of the activity of the cytosolic to the mitochondrial forms of malate dehydrogenase in cells incubated with chloroquine, either with or without LDL, was also decreased. When the cells were incubated with LDL and chloroquine together, lipid droplets, at least some of which were membrane-bound, and large autophagic vacuoles developed in the cells. When homogenates of these cells were subjected to low-speed centrifugation to prepare a postnuclear supernatant, all of the large autophagic vacuoles were sedimented into the nuclear fraction, together with most of the cholesteryl ester and chloroquine and most of the acid hydrolase activities. Therefore whole homogenates of smooth muscle cells, rather than postnuclear supernatants, were applied to the sucrose density gradients. When the cells had been incubated with LDL and chloroquine together, most of the cholesteryl ester and chloroquine and part of the nonesterified cholesterol were then found to be associated with lysosomes. These lipid-laden lysosomes probably correspond to the autophagic vacuoles seen in the cells by electron microscopy. The density of the lipid-laden lysosomes was increased considerably compared to the lysosomes of normal cells. This may have been due to either the high chloroquine content of the lysosomes, to an enhanced permeability of the lysosomal membrane to sucrose, or to the presence of partially degraded cell organelles within the lysosomes due to the autophagy caused by chloroquine. The distributions of cholesterol and cholesteryl ester had a small shoulder of low density, which may possibly correspond to the lipid droplets seen within the cells by electron microscopy. Thus, when large-scale lipid accumulation is induced in smooth muscle cells by incubating them with LDL and chloroquine together, the large majority of the cholesterol and cholesteryl ester that accumulates in the cells is contained within the autophagic vacuoles rather than within the lipid droplets.     

Characterization of lipid-laden aortic cells from cholesterol-fed rabbits. III. Intracellular localization of cholesterol and cholesteryl ester.

The subcellular sites of accumulation of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters in rabbit atheromatous cells, were investigated by morphologic and biochemical techniques. Electron microscopy of lipid-filled cells in situ in atheromatous aortas of cholesterol-fed rabbits revealed lipid accumulation in the cytoplasm as lipid droplets and within lysosomes in the form of lipid globules, membranous whorls, and crystals. When such cells were isolated from the rabbit aortas by enzymic digestion, and then treated with Flickinger's aldehyde fixative containing 0.2 per cent digitonin, characteristic digitonide-lipid complexes ("spicules") were observed in discrete sites of the cytoplasm distinct from the cytoplasmic droplets. If these cells were first stained cytochemically for acid phosphatase and then treated with digitonin-aldehyde fixative, enzyme reaction product was found associated with the spicules indicating that the lysosomes of the atheromatous cells possess digitonin-reactive lipid. Subcellular fractionation of isolated rabbit aortic foam cells by sucrose density gradient centrifugation demonstrated the coequilibration of most of the intracellular unesterified cholesterol with low density lysosomes. Some cholesteryl ester was also associated with low density lysosomes, although most was found in a lipid droplet fraction of very low density. Together the results indicate that in rabbit atheromatous cells, lysosomes are the site of accumulation of intracellular cholesterol in excess of that structurally associated with membranes and that both cytoplasmic droplets and lysosomes are depot sites for cholesteryl esters.     

Characterization of Two Unique Cholesterol-Rich Lipid Particles Isolated from Human Atherosclerotic Lesions

The authors' laboratory, using histochemical methods, previously identified two types of cholesterol-containing lipid particles in the extracellular spaces of human atherosclerotic lesions, one particle enriched in esterified cholesterol and the other particle enriched in unesterified cholesterol. The authors isolated and characterized these lipid particles. The esterified cholesterol-rich lipid particle was a small lipid droplet and differed from intracellular lipid droplets found in foam cells with respect to size and chemical composition. It had an esterified cholesterol core surrounded by a phospholipid-unesterified cholesterol monolayer. Some aqueous spaces were seen within the particle core. Unesterified cholesterol-rich lipid particles were multilamellated, solid structures and vesicles comprised of single or multiple lamellas. The esterified cholesterol-rich particle had a density less than 1.01 g/ml, whereas the unesterified cholesterol-rich particle had a density between 1.03 and 1.05 g/ml. Both particles were similar in size (90% of both particles ranged in size between 40 to 200 nm in diameter) and had an unesterified cholesterol-to-phospholipid molar ratio of 2.5:1. The predominant phospholipid in both particles was sphingomyelin. The fatty acyl compositions of cholesteryl ester and phospholipid also were similar in both particles. Palmitate, oleate, and linoleate were the major fatty acids in the cholesteryl ester fraction, whereas palmitate, stearate, oleate, and linoleate were predominant in the phospholipid fraction. The origins and the role of these two unusual lipid particles in vessel wall cholesterol metabolism remain to be determined.     

Ceroid accumulation by murine peritoneal macrophages exposed to artificial lipoproteins: ultrastructural observations

Murine resident peritoneal macrophages were maintained in cell culture in a medium containing 10% lipoprotein-deficient fetal calf serum to which various artificial lipoprotein particles (coacervates of lipid and bovine serum albumin) had been added. The uptake and intracellular fate of these particles was studied by electron microscopy. The appearance of material accumulating within the cells varied according to the nature of the lipid component of the ingested particles. Lipids which are readily oxidised (cholesteryl linoleate, cholesteryl arachidonate, trilinolein) were associated with the formation of ceroid within membrane-bound structures. Less readily oxidized lipids (cholesteryl oleate, triolein) were not associated with ceroid accumulation but instead the cells contained numerous nonmembrane-bound lipid inclusions. The appearances of the ceroid within the murine peritoneal macrophages are similar to those of ceroid in macrophages in human atherosclerotic lesions.     

Ceroid accumulation by murine peritoneal macrophages exposed to artificial lipoproteins: ultrastructural observations.

Murine resident peritoneal macrophages were maintained in cell culture in a medium containing 10% lipoprotein-deficient fetal calf serum to which various artificial lipoprotein particles (coacervates of lipid and bovine serum albumin) had been added. The uptake and intracellular fate of these particles was studied by electron microscopy. The appearance of material accumulating within the cells varied according to the nature of the lipid component of the ingested particles. Lipids which are readily oxidised (cholesteryl linoleate, cholesteryl arachidonate, trilinolein) were associated with the formation of ceroid within membrane-bound structures. Less readily oxidized lipids (cholesteryl oleate, triolein) were not associated with ceroid accumulation but instead the cells contained numerous nonmembrane-bound lipid inclusions. The appearances of the ceroid within the murine peritoneal macrophages are similar to those of ceroid in macrophages in human atherosclerotic lesions.     

Insoluble low-density lipoprotein-proteoglycan complexes enhance cholesteryl ester accumulation in macrophages.

The interaction of arterial proteoglycans (PGs) and low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) has been postulated to be an important factor in extracellular cholesterol accumulation in the arterial wall. In the present study, insoluble complexes of LDL and PG (LDL-PG) were prepared and their effects on cholesteryl ester accumulation in mouse peritoneal macrophages was tested. The cholesteryl ester content of macrophages incubated with LDL-PG for 3 days was greater than 20 times that observed in cells incubated with LDL alone. The uptake of 125I-LDL by macrophages was markedly stimulated if LDL was incorporated into a complex with PG. However, in contrast to either LDL or acetylated LDL (ALDL), the extent of subsequent degradation of LDL-PG by the cells was reduced. The uptake and degradation of LDL-PG complexes stimulated macrophage incorporation of 14C-oleic acid into cholesteryl oleate 4- to 5-fold over LDL alone; however, esterification was significantly less than that observed with ALDL, even though more LDL-PG was degraded. Ultrastructurally, macrophages incubated with LDL-PG complexes contained lipid droplets as well as numerous phagocytic vacuoles often containing material similar in appearance to insoluble complexes. These results demonstrate that components of the extracellular matrix, such as PG, can modify the catabolism of LDL by scavenger cells. This phenomenon may be potentially important with respect to foam-cell genesis from macrophages in the arterial wall.     

Lipid metabolism in xanthomatous skin of hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The authors studied xanthomatous skin in cholesterol-fed rabbits for changes in lipid content and in activities of enzymes regulating intracellular lipid content. After 80 days of hypercholesterolemic diet, xanthomas were widespread and changes in lipid metabolism were marked. In both tissue homogenates and cell membrane pellets, unesterified cholesterol and phospholipids increased 2-fold to 6-fold, and cholesteryl esters increased about 30-fold. Tissue triglycerides, however, decreased to half the levels found in control skin. Cholesterol esterification rates, measured by activity of acyl coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase, increased moderately to markedly; hydrolase activity against 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate also increased at both acid and neutral pH, but hydrolase activity against cholesterol oleate increased only at acid pH. Thus, hypercholesterolemia caused striking increases in intracellular cholesterol esterification rates, increases in lipase activity at both neutral and acid pH, and increases in cholesteryl ester hydrolase activity at acid pH. Increases in cholesterol-esterifying activity uniformly exceeded increases in cholesteryl ester hydrolytic activity in congruence with net accumulation of cholesteryl ester. Skin xanthoma grade, however, had no consistent relation to the cholesterol esterification rates. Instead, the enzyme data suggested that marked abnormalities of lipid metabolism are diffusely distributed through dermal tissue as a precondition for the focal emergence of xanthomas.     

Induction of fatty streak-like lesions in vitro using a culture model system simulating arterial intima.

In this study a two-compartment culture model of arterial intima was used for the in vitro induction of fatty streaklike lesions. The apparatus consisted of upper and lower compartments separated by a human amnion membrane stretched between them. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured to confluence on the stromal surface of the amnion membrane. Maximal migration of blood mononuclear cells (MCs) through the HUVEC monolayer in response to a f-Met-Leu-Phe gradient was observed at 10(-8) mol/l; the migration was 3.29 times greater than that observed under the condition of random migration (control). In the study of MC transformation into lipid-laden cells in the amnion membrane (foam cell formation in 'arterial intima'), 10(6) MCs were incubated, in the presence of freshly prepared low-density lipoprotein (LDL; 100 microgram/ml). The lipid loading of MCs was time dependent. After 12 hours' incubation, 39% of the MCs that migrated into the amnion membrane contained a small number of lipid droplets, whereas the remaining 61% showed no lipid droplets. Only 1.7% of the cells contained a high number of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm and took on the appearance of foam cells. With time, the number of lipid-laden cells and the amounts of intracytoplasmic lipid droplets gradually increased. At 72 hours after incubation, 65.4% of the MCs were loaded with lipid droplets, and 20.9% of them, an eightfold increase over 12 hours of incubation, showed a foamy cell appearance. Because MCs consist of 70% monocytes and 30% lymphocytes, about 93% of the monocytes were filled with lipid after a 72-hour incubation. Ultrastructural examination showed that lipid-laden cells took on macrophage characteristics, such as wide and heterogeneous cytoplasm, indented nuclei, and abundant lysosomes. A minority of the MCs in the amnion were considered lymphocytes; they had scanty cytoplasm, round nuclei with abundant heterochromatin, no lysosomes, and no lipid vacuoles. In conclusion, the formation of an in vitro fatty streaklike lesion is demonstrated, and this is reminiscent of in vivo human atherogenesis.     

Chronic alcoholic skeletal muscle myopathy: a clinical, histological and biochemical assessment of muscle lipid.

Muscle biopsy samples were analysed from five control subjects, four patients with mild to moderate fibre atrophy and four patients with severe atrophy. Patchy increase in lipid was noted with oil red O staining but there was no consistent association of lipid with selective fibre types. Ultrastructural studies demonstrated lipid droplets both subjacent to the sarcolemma and between fibrils. Quantitative analysis showed that the increased lipid was solely due to excess triglyceride. GLC analysis of free and esterified acids was performed. The profiles were essentially similar for the phospholipid and free fatty acid fractions. The triglyceride fraction showed a decrease of myristate, stearate and linoleate with an increase in oleate and arachidate in the alcoholic tissue compared with control. The cholesteryl ester fraction showed an increase in palmitate with a decrease in stearate and oleate in the alcoholic muscle. The accumulation of lipid correlated with mean daily alcohol consumption but not with degree of atrophy suggesting that the two processes probably had different pathogenic mechanisms.     

Endogenous apolipoprotein E modulates cholesterol efflux and cholesteryl ester hydrolysis mediated by high-density lipoprotein-3 and lipid-free apolipoproteins in mouse peritoneal macrophages

We investigated the effect of endogenous apolipoprotein (apo) E synthesis in mouse peritoneal macrophages on cholesterol efflux and intracellular cholesteryl ester hydrolysis mediated by high-density lipoprotein-3 (HDL3) and lipid-free apolipoproteins (apo). After loading with acetylated LDL (acLDL) peritoneal macrophages from wild-type (apoE(+/+)) and apoE-deficient (apoE(-/-)) mice were incubated with medium alone or with liposomes, HDL3, lipid-free apoA-I, or lipid-free apoE3. Cholesterol and cholesteryl esters in the cells and culture media were quantified by HPLC. Incubation of apoE(+/+) or apoE(-/-) macrophages for 18 h with medium alone or with liposomes did not cause significant changes in cellular cholesterol. Addition of HDL3, apoA-I, or apoE3 to the medium led to significant cholesterol efflux, which was less efficient in apoE(-/-) macrophages than in apoE(+/+) macrophages. HDL and lipid-free apolipoproteins were more effective in reducing the cellular content of cholesteryl esters of apoE(+/+) macrophages than of apoE(-/-) macrophages, suggesting that endogenous apoE stimulates cholesteryl ester hydrolysis. The difference in the mass of cholesteryl esters was more pronounced for cholesteryl arachidonate and linoleate than for cholesteryl oleate or palmitate. Furthermore, in [(14)C]arachidonate labeling experiments cholesterol arachidonate hydrolysis was higher in apoE(+/+) macrophages than in apoE(-/-) macrophages in the presence of cholesterol efflux mediated by HDL3 or apoA-I. In contrast, in the absence of cholesterol efflux cholesterol arachidonate synthesis was higher in apoE(+/+) macrophages than in apoE-/- macrophages. Taken together, our data suggest that endogenous apoE stimulates cholesterol efflux and intracellular cholesteryl ester hydrolysis mediated by HDL3 and lipid-free apolipoproteins in mouse peritoneal macrophages. This may contribute to the antiatherogenic effect of apoE.     

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization induces cell death in human mast cells

Mast cells (MC) have pathogenic roles in numerous disorders, and strategies that stabilize MC or induce MC apoptosis are therefore emerging as possible therapeutic regimens. A typical feature of MC is their high content of secretory lysosomes (granules), containing numerous components such as biogenic amines, cytokines, serglycin proteoglycan and proteases. Damage to the secretory lysosomes will thus lead to leakage of these compounds, including the proteases, into the cytosol, and this could potentially trigger apoptosis. Here, we evaluated whether MC are sensitive to cell death induced by secretory lysosome destabilization, induced by the lysosomotropic agent Leu-Leu-OMe (LLME). Human MC were sensitive to LLME-induced cell death. In contrast, fibroblasts and HEK-293 cells were largely resistant. As judged by Annexin V/propidium iodide staining, LLME caused apoptotic cell death, and this was supported by induction of caspase-3-like activity, detection of activated caspase-3 by immunoblot analysis and reduced cell death in the presence of a caspase inhibitor. In support of a role for serglycin in regulating LLME-induced cell death, the survival rate of various cell types correlated negatively with the level of serglycin expression. In summary, this study introduces the concept of using lysosomotropic agents to induce cell death of human MC.     

Endothelium modifies the altered metabolism of the injured aortic wall.

Results of previous experiments in this laboratory indicate that lipids, especially cholesterol and cholesteryl ester, preferentially accumulate in re-endothelialized, as compared with de-endothelialized, areas of aorta (Am J Pathol 1980, 99:81-104). In the experiments reported here, the hypothesis that this lipid accumulation results from alterations in arterial wall metabolism induced by injury and modified by endothelium was tested. Activities of the two cholesterol-ester-metabolizing enzymes acyl CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase and acid cholesteryl esterase were assayed in uninjured aortas and in de-endothelialized and re-endothelialized areas of balloon-catheter-injured aortas from normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Activities of marker enzymes for major cell organelles were also assayed. Our results indicate that acyl CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase activity was similarly increased in re-endothelialized and de-endothelialized areas of injured aortas. Activity of acid cholesteryl esterase was also increased; however, it was significantly less in re-endothelialized as compared with de-endothelialized areas. Activities of several marker enzymes were changed in injured aortas, particularly in de-endothelialized as compared with re-endothelialized areas. These findings suggest that 1) injury predisposes to general metabolic changes in the aorta that are modified by endothelium and 2) increased cholesteryl ester accumulation in re-endothelialized aortas occurs at least in part from increased synthesis and decreased hydrolysis.     

Lysosomal alterations during coronary atherosclerosis in the pigeon: correlative cytochemical and three-dimensional HVEM/IVEM observations

Lysosomal changes have been implicated as one of the major factors contributing to the progression and complications of atherosclerosis, and recently foam cell formation has been correlated with increases in several acid hydrolases. To explore at the subcellular level relationships among lesion progression, cellular lipid accumulation, and lysosomal change, atherosclerotic lesions from hypercholesterolemic White Carneau pigeons have been studied through combined ultrastructural cytochemistry and stereo (three-dimensional) high-voltage electron microscopy. Lysosomal enzyme activity in the prelesion intima and in foam cells of early lesions was in discrete lysosomes of macrophage foam cells. Foam cell lipid at the early stages was primarily (72%) in cytoplasmic droplets, which formed a three-dimensional network with the small (0.25-0.8 microM in diameter), reaction-positive lysosomes suspended at the vertices of a cytoplasmic lattice that delineated individual lipid pools. Concomitant with lesion progression and increasing complexity, foam cell lysosome number, size, and complexity increased. The complexity was characterized by lysosome lipid accumulation (60% of cell lipid) and the fusion of lysosomes to form multilobulated organelles in which the acid phosphatase reaction product typically was circumferential to the lysosomal lipid core. The involvement of lysosomes climaxed in the more advanced region of lesions with foam cells in which the bulk of cytoplasmic volume was occupied by large (15-20 microM in diameter), multicompartmental, lipid-containing lysosomes. It is suggested that this progressive involvement of lysosomes is responsible for cell and tissue necroses characteristic of advanced lesions.     

Early atherogenesis in the White Carneau pigeon. III. Lipid accumulation in nascent foam cells.

The role of lysosomes in aortic atherogenesis in White Carneau pigeons was examined by means of acid phosphatase cytochemistry. Foam cells were the major constituent of nascent atherosclerotic lesions in pigeons fed a 0.5% cholesterol diet for either 5 or 10 weeks. Seventy-four percent of foam cell lipid from animals at 5 weeks was in cytoplasmic droplets. The remaining lipid appeared in secondary lysosomes. After 10 weeks of cholesterol feeding, lysosomal lipid accounted for 73% of the lipid volume. The lipid accumulation correlated with increases in both size and number of lysosomes. An average of 2.4 lysosomes per 10(4) cu mu of cytoplasm was observed at 5 weeks. This value doubled by 10 weeks. The average lysosome diameter also increased between 5 and 10 weeks from 2.2 mu to 5.75 mu. Concomitantly, the complexity of lysosomes increased from simple, spherical organelles at 5 weeks to complex, multichambered organelles at 10 weeks. In contrast, lipid storage within cytoplasmic lipid droplets did not change either in size or in number. These observations suggest that by 5 weeks lipid storage within cytoplasmic droplets was maximized, and continued increases in lipid stores occurred predominantly through lysosomal loading.     

Migration of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells depends on the availability of exogenous lipids and cholesterol esterification

We previously described a lipid-accumulating phenotype of estrogen receptor negative (ER⁻) breast cancer cells exemplified by the MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 cell lines. These cells had more lipid droplets, a higher uptake of oleic acid and LDL, a higher ratio of cholesteryl ester (CE) to triacylglycerol (TAG), and higher expression of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) as compared to ER⁺ MCF-7 breast cancer cells. LDL stimulated proliferation of ER-cells only, and proliferation was reduced by inhibition of ACAT. We hypothesized that storage of exogenous lipids would confer an energetic advantage. We tested this by depriving cells of exogenous lipids and measuring chemotactic migration, an energy-intensive behavior. MDA-MB-231 cells were grown for 48 h in medium with either 5% FBS or 5% lipoprotein-depleted (LD) FBS. Growth in LD medium resulted in visibly reduced lipid droplets and an 85% decrease in cell migration. Addition of LDL to the LD medium dose-dependently restored the ability to migrate in an ACAT-sensitive manner. LDL receptor (LDLR) mRNA was 12-fold higher in MDA-MB-231 cells compared to nontumorigenic ER-MCF-10A breast epithelial cells grown in LD medium. Addition of LDL to the LD medium reduced LDLR mRNA levels in MCF-10A cells only. We asked if ACAT1 activity was associated with the expression of the LDLR in MDA-MB-231 cells. LDLR mRNA in MDA-MB-231 cells was substantially reduced by inhibition of ACAT, demonstrating that high ACAT1 activity permitted higher LDLR expression. This data substantiates the association of lipid accumulation with aggressive behavior in an ER-breast cancer cell line.     

Role of gustation in the recognition of oleate and triolein in anosmic rats

Recent studies suggest a chemical perception of dietary fat in the oral cavity. To examine the role of gustation for the recognition of oleate and triolein, very short-term (5-min), two-bottle preference tests were conducted in anosmic rats. To minimize the effects of olfaction, texture and postingestive effects, rats were rendered anosmic with intranasal zinc sulfate, test substances were suspended in 0.3% xanthan gum solution and test fluids were offered for 5 min. Rats preferred oleate fluid but not triolein fluid to the control of 0.3% xanthan gum solution. The preference threshold for oleate in the rat oral cavity was between 0.2% and 0.5%. In the two-bottle preference tests between oleate and triolein, rats preferred oleate fluid to triolein fluid, showing discrimination of oleate and triolein. The results suggest that rat recognizes oleate by a gustatory cue and that fatty acid but not triglyceride is important for gustatory recognition of fat.     

脂质转运和脂酶水解对低密度脂蛋白的修饰作用

采用胆固醇脂转运蛋白（CETP）介导极低密度脂蛋白（VLDL）中甘油三酯（TG）与低密度脂蛋白（LDL）中胆固醇（CH）交换：再行脂蛋白脂酶（LPL）水解LDL中TG，对LDL进行修饰，引起LDL颗粒组成和大小的变化，探讨体内小而致密的LDL形成的可能途径，及易于致动脉粥样硬化（As）作用的机制。结果示CETP介导的脂质转运使LDL中TG含量增加，CH降低，颗粒直径轻微变大；再经LPL水解的共同作用，LDL中TG含量降低，颗粒变小。同时LDL中载脂蛋白B（apoB）免疫反应性也发生相应的变化，LDL中TG含量同apoB免疫反应性高度负相关。认为大而轻的A型LDL经修饰作用可转变为小而致密的B型LDL，富含TG的LDL不易于通过apoB受体途径清除，史易于氧化。     

Lipoprotein degradation and cholesterol esterification in primary cell cultures of rabbit atherosclerotic lesions.

Lipoprotein metabolism and cholesterol accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions was studied using enzymatically isolated primary cell cultures from aortas of rabbits made atherosclerotic by cholesterol feeding. The cultures consisted of macrophages and smooth muscle cells, thus resembling, in composition, fatty streak lesions. The mean (+/- SD) cholesteryl ester content of the dispersed cells was 1059 +/- 445 micrograms/mg cell protein, but it declined steeply during 1 week in primary culture. The uptake of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), beta-migrating very low-density lipoprotein (beta-VLDL), and acetylated LDL (acetyl-LDL), labeled with 125I or with the fluorescent probe 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'- tetramethylindocarbocyanine (DiI), was studied in 2-day-old primary cultures. DiI-acetyl-LDL was avidly taken up by the macrophages and, to a lesser extent, by some smooth muscle cells. The uptake of DiI-beta-VLDL by the macrophages was weaker and less homogeneous than that of DiI-acetyl-LDL. The degradation rates of 125I-labeled beta-VLDL, LDL and acetyl-LDL were 135 +/- 54, 195 +/- 20, and 697 +/- 14 ng/mg cell protein/8 hours, respectively. Incubation with unlabeled acetyl-LDL enhanced the incorporation of [3H]oleate into cholesteryl esters and increased the cellular cholesteryl ester content. These results suggest that arterial macrophages and, to some extent, smooth muscle cells from cholesterol-fed rabbits actively metabolize acetyl-LDL and are thus capable of accumulating cholesteryl esters by uptake of modified forms of LDL.     

Acute effects of ACTH on dissociated adrenocortical cells: Quantitative changes in mitochondria and lipid droplets

To study the role of certain organelles in steroidogenesis, dissociated rat adrenocortical cells were incubated for two hours with ACTH at a concentration that induces a high level of steroid production. Sections of ACTH treated and untreated cells were photographed in the electron microscope, and morphometric analysis was undertaken to assess possible ACTH-induced changes in total cell volume, volume density and numerical density of lipid droplets and mitochondria. There was no change in total cell volume. Lipid droplet volume density and numerical density decreased. Mitochondrial volume density did not change, but numerical density increased. The decrease in lipid droplet volume density indicates a rapid depletion of cholesterol for steroid production. This depletion is almost entirely due to the disappearance of lipid droplets, rather than to an overall diminution in their size, as shown by the decrease in lipid droplet numerical density. The mitochondrial data suggest that the adrenocortical cell has an adequate mitochondrial apparatus to respond to acute ACTH stimulation with increased steroid output without an increase in mitochondrial volume.     

Acute effects of ACTH on dissociated adrenocortical cells: quantitative changes in mitochondria and lipid droplets.

To study the role of certain organelles in steroidogenesis, dissociated rat adrenocortical cells were incubated for two hours with ACTH at a concentration that induces a high level of steroid production. Sections of ACTH treated and untreated cells were photographed in the electron microscope, and morphometric analysis was undertaken to assess possible ACTH-induced changes in total cell volume, volume density and numerical denisty of lipid droplets and mitochondria. There was no change in total cell volume. Lipid droplet volume density and numerical density decreased. Mitochondrial volume density did not change, but numerical density increased. The decrease in lipid droplet volume density indicates a rapid depletion of cholesterol for steroid production. This depletion is almost entirely due to the disappearance of lipid droplets, rather than to an overall diminution in their size, as shown by the decrease in lipid droplet numerical density. The mitochondrial data suggest that the adrenocortical cell has an adedquate mitochondrial apparatus to respond to acute ACTH stimulation with increased steroid output without an increase inmitochondrial volume.