[Angiogenesis in coronary atherosclerotic plaques and its relationship to plaque stabilization].
OBJECTIVE
To compare the angiogenesis in unstable and stable plaques and to investigate the potential role of neovessels in creating vulnerable sites for atherosclerotic plaques.


METHODS
Specimens of coronary arteries were obtained from 52 autopsy cases with acute coronary syndromes. Plaque morphology was studied by use of stained slides. 922 tissue blocks of late-stage lesions were classified into two groups: (1) unstable plaque (n = 153), the plaque was characterized by a large extracellular lipid core (more than 40% of the plaque area); (2) stable plaque (n = 769), lipid core less than 40% of the plaque area. Forty blocks were selected randomly from each group and serial sections were stained immunohistochemically with a polyclonal antibody against F VIII RAg. Computer-aided planimeter was used for quantitative analysis.


RESULTS
In unstable plaques, the occurrence of neovessels was more frequent and the neovessel density (number/mm(2)) was significantly increased as compared to that of stable plaques (frequency: 80.4% vs 66.6%, P < 0.01; shoulder: 22.16 +/- 19.96 vs 10.04 +/- 11.52, base: 21.68 +/- 20.44 vs 9.68 +/- 11.52, fibrous cap: 3.80 +/- 5.32 vs 1.48 +/- 2.28, P < 0.05). Most neovessels were located in the shoulder region and at the base of plaques.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that neovessels in coronary atherosclerotic plaques are closely associated with the decreased stabilization of the plaques.
Sun
Lu
L
Department of Pathology, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, China.
Wei
Li-xin
LX
Shi
Huai-yin
HY
Guo
Ai-tao
AT
Hou
Ning
N
You
Lian-bi
LB
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology*