Intralysosomal lipid in long-term maintenance transplant atherosclerosis.
Intralysosomal accumulation of lipid has been implicated as an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Although atherosclerosis develops frequently in organ transplants maintained on a long-term basis, to our knowledge no studies to date have demonstrated the intracellular localization of the lipid in this setting. Light and electron microscopic study of a renal artery branch from a transplanted kidney maintained for 3 1/2 years demonstrates that the lipid is sequestered within intimal smooth muscle cell lysosomes. The features of the atherosclerotic plaque in long-term transplantation appear to be identical to spontaneous lesions or those induced experimentally.
D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008055:Lipids; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000473:pathology; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D008055:Lipids