To clarify foam cell origination in atherosclerosis, a series of morphologic and ultrastructural alterations of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and foam cells were studied by light and electron microscopy in atherosclerotic aortas from hyperlipidemic rabbits induced for 5 weeks. The study exhibited that VSMCs were severely degenerated and damaged, including irregular shapes, expanded mitochondria, aplenty lipid droplets, and disarranged myofilaments in cytoplasm in media adjacent to atheromatic bottoms. Most lipid laden cells shared interphase structures of VSMCs and foam cells, and some dissolved spindle cells contained lipid droplets, lipofuscin, and rod-like CCs in cytoplasm also. The result demonstrated that VSMCs were degenerated and transformed into foam cells in atherosclerosis, which was responsible for the accumulation of lipid and cholesterol crystals in atherosclerotic arteries.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; degeneration; foam cell; transformation; vascular smooth muscle cells.