Ultrastructure of atheromatous lesions experimentally induced in Syrian hamsters of the APA strain

Abstract

In order to examine whether diabetes enhances primary aortic lesions up to atherosclerotic ones, mild primary lesions were induced in aorta of APA hamsters by an administration of vitamin D2 (VD) andlor stop-and-reflow (SR)-operation, a modification of renal artery clamping. At 2 months after the treatment with the combination of VD-administration and SRoperation, atheromatous lesions, characterized by an appearance of many foam cells in the intima, were observed in the abdominal aorta, the site of SRoperation, in streptozotocin (SZ)-induced diabetic APA hamsters. Foam cells in the atheromatous lesions were originated from smooth muscle cells and monocytel macrophages. On the other hand, neither VDadministration alone nor SR-operation done developed atheromatous lesions in SZ-induced diabetic APA hamsters. In conclusion, we succeeded in a rapid induction of atherosclerotic lesions in abdominal aorta of SZ-induced diabetic APA hamsters by the combination of VD-administration and SR-operation.